The 2024 Paris Summer games are set to formally kickoff Friday in what will be an opening ceremony like no other before its time.
There will be all of the pageantry and spectacle you’d come to expect from an Olympics opening ceremony, only there will be one big difference. Instead of parading around a stadium, some 10,000 plus athletes will get on boats and sail down the heart of Paris on the Seine River.
Olympic organizers say this will be the first time in the history of the Summer Games that it will be held outside of a stadium.
Roaring back from the pandemic era
The Paris Games somewhat represent a return to normalcy. The last Summer Olympics in Tokyo occurred in 2021, delayed a year amid a global pandemic, which for the Games meant large-scale restrictions — no spectators, quiet stadiums and mask mandates.
Paris aims to offer a stark contrast
According to Paris’ Tourism Board, some 11 million tourists are expected to visit the French capital for the Games.
Paris 2024 Olympic Organizers on Thursday said that Paris Games broke the record for most tickets sold or allocated in the event’s history, the AP reported.
In total, 9.7 million tickets have been so far for this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games, breaking the previous ticket sales record set in 1996 during the Atlanta Games when 8.3 million were sold.
Massive security operation
Paris officials knew that floating the opening ceremony down the Seine would not come without security risks and as the Games are about to officially open, the streets are flooded with 45,000 police officers and an additional 10,000 soldiers — including search dogs, bomb squads and tactical teams — essentially transforming the French capital into a maximum security site, complete with checkpoints and metal barricades.
As it gets closer to the ceremony, the airspace in and around the Seine will close, stretching some 93 miles. Four nearby airports will also be shuttered as a result, including Paris Charles de Gaulle, one of Europe’s three largest airports.
Floating down the Seine River
More than 300,000 spectators are expected to gather along the Seine River to watch the historic opening ceremony on Friday night as dozens of team boats will ferry 10,000 Olympic athletes from east to west along the river, a route that extends nearly four miles, passing famed landmarks and bridges along the way.
There, the Eiffel Tower will serve as an illustrious backdrop for the remainder of the ceremony.
