I took Olympic Opening Ceremony route ahead of Paris 2024 – here’s what to expect
The opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics will be like nothing we’ve ever seen before.
That’s because thousands and thousands of athletes will be on barges travelling down the River Seine on Friday.
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Usually, the opening ceremony for an Olympic games takes place inside a stadium. Everything self-contained in one arena where there is some sort of extravagant performance followed each nation being introduced one by one.
Paris will be making use of some of their iconic landmarks in what is the biggest show on earth, with an estimated 1.5billion set to tune in at 7:30pm local time (6:30pm in the UK).
Innovative, creative, revolutionary or complete madness? Time will tell.
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Three weeks out from the opening ceremony, I was taken on a cruise along the River Seine and got to experience what the athletes will do on Friday.
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The athletes will depart from the Austerlitz Bridge on their 6km trip from east to west of the city.
Tens of thousands of people will line the streets to catch a glimpse of the Olympians, who will take 45 minutes to get to their final destination.
Three weeks out, there were already thousands of barriers ready for the ceremony and temporary seating placed at key locations where fans will pay to sit at.
It was a serene journey on the day I went. But will be far from it on the day of the opening ceremony. Fans screaming, fireworks, and who knows what else.
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Many houseboats line the banks of the Seine that will be forced to leave their usual mooring, so nothing gets in the way of the spectacle.
The piece de resistance will of course be where it all ends at the Trocadero. Right in front of the Eiffel Tower, one of the most iconic landmarks in the world.
The specifics of the opening ceremony are a closely guarded secret, but Celine Dion and Lady Gaga are rumoured to be involved.
Yiannis Exarchos, CEO of the Olympic Broadcasting Service, was on hand to explain the monumental task of broadcasting the event to the world.
They will have eight drones, three helicopters and over 230 cameras, plus 200 mobile phones, to capture all the action. So many more variables are at play than in a self-contained arena, but this has been years in the planning.
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A no fly zone will be deployed 150km around Paris starting one hour before the opening ceremony.
Not only is it logistically challenging getting all the athletes down the river, but it will be one of the biggest security operations Paris has ever seen.
The city will see up to 75,000 police, soldiers and hired guards on patrol at any one time.
Around 44,000 barriers have been erected, while roads and metro stations have been closed. That was already causing problems three weeks ago.
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An elaborate system of QR codes has been set up for residents and others seeking access to the river.
Some 250 British officers – and 50 police dogs - have also been deployed in Paris for the games.
There has already been turmoil leading up to the opening ceremony. More than £1billion has been spent cleaning up the River Seine due to dangerous levels of bacteria.
It has been closed to swimmers for more than 100 years, but will still host a number of swimming events including the triathlon.
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo recently took a dip in the Seine to prove it was safe.
”JechiedanslaSeine” (“I’m pooping in the Seine”) trended on social media as some threatened to protest the Olympics by defecating upstream.
More recently, the dancers involved in the opening ceremony threatened to strike and caused turmoil.
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“We are ready,” declared President Emmanuel Macron recently. Come Friday, Paris will have to be.
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