What to expect from the Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony

This summer's Games will kick-off with the first opening ceremony outside of a closed stadium

PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 24: Preparations for the upcoming Paris Olympics opening ceremony are underway near the Eiffel Tower on July 24, 2024 in Paris, France. The Paris Olympics will be held from July 26 to August 11. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

The opening ceremony will finish outside the Eiffel Tower (Photo: Getty)

Sports News Reporter

July 25, 2024 11:08 am

The Paris 2024 Olympics begins on Friday 26 July ahead of 16 days of elite sport across 32 disciplines.

The Games have been mired in controversy before they have officially started, from Charlotte Dujardin’s withdrawal to the Argentina vs Morocco football match taking four hours due to fan unrest.

The formal start is Friday’s opening ceremony, which will be the first to take place outside a closed stadium.

Here’s everything you need to know.

What to expect from the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony

The Paris 2024 opening ceremony will take place along a 6km stretch of the River Seine, rather than in a stadium as expected.

A fleet of 160 boats, 94 of them carrying athletes, will begin at Austerlitz Bridge and finish at Trocadero, outside the Eiffel Tower.

More than 10,000 athletes representing 206 countries will participate on a river tour of Parisian landmarks, including Notre Dame cathedral and Pont Neuf.

The ceremony will also include French president Emmanuel Macron officially opening the Games and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron with the Olympic flame.

Greece will be the first nation introduced during the ceremony, followed by the Refugee Olympic Team.

Team GB’s joint flag bearers are diver Tom Daley and rower Helen Glover, who have won three gold medals between them at previous Games.

Much of the ceremony has been kept a secret, with 326,000 tickets sold to those who will line the Seine to watch.

“I’d like to show France in all its diversity,” said Thomas Jolly, the ceremony’s artistic director.

“Illustrate the richness and plurality shaped by its history, which has been influenced and inspired by the diverse cultures that have passed through it, while itself serving as a source of inspiration.”