OLYMPICS fans are gearing up for the Paris 2024 opening ceremony – but it will NOT be taking place in a stadium for the first time ever!
It has been estimated that there will be over 600,000 people in attendance to watch the highly-anticipated spectacle.
And instead of everyone flocking to a stadium, attendees will get to watch the opening ceremony happen on the Seine River in Paris.
Organisers have revealed that it will take place when dusk is due to fall at the time of the event so that spectators can watch it during the day and night.
But that isn’t the only reason why the opening ceremony will not be held in a stadium for this year.
Tony Estanguet – head of the organising committee – has revealed that he wants the entire city to be turned into a vast Olympic stadium.
And the only way for him to do that was to organise an opening ceremony on the Seine River where the Eiffel Tower can be seen in the distance.
There will be several boats that will carry over 200 athletes along the stretch of the river, through the city.
Leaving thousands of spectators to watch and wave from either side.
All boats carrying the athletes will depart from the Pont d’Austerlitz bridge.
They will then cover a six-kilometre stretch over the Seine – crossing 18 bridges and several landmarks across the City of Lights in the sunset hours before making their way to Pont d’Lena.
And lastly, the boat will stop at Champions Park – a temporary stadium with a crowd capacity of 13,000 – has been put up in front of the Trocadero by the Eiffel Tower and this is where the official Olympic protocol will take place.
There is expected to be somewhere between 80-100 boats on the Seine river.
The head of the organising committee, Tony Estanguet revealed the team behind this incredible idea.
Estanguet said: “As we unveil the artistic team for the Opening Ceremony, we are delighted to announce the four talents who will deliver this unique show: Fanny Herrero, Leïla Slimani, Patrick Boucheron and Damien Gabriac!
“This wonderful, multidisciplinary, daring and gender-balanced team has created a founding story for this celebration that we are delighted to present to you on the banks of the Seine on 26 July.
“It is thanks to their imagination, their words, their vision, translated by the artistic team into the most beautiful expression of the performing arts, that the extraordinary odyssey of the Paris 2024 Games will come to life.”
