The Opening Ceremony
Thinking creatively and revolutionising the Games yet remaining accessible to a large audience: this is the challenge met by Paris 2024. Thanks to the concerted efforts of Paris 2024, the City of Paris, the French government, the IOC and the CNOSF, the Opening Ceremony is being remade anew.
ONE CEREMONY, SEVERAL FIRSTS
The Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games will be bold, original and unique. On 26 July 2024, Paris 2024 will offer an Opening Ceremony that is certain to join the most memorable moments in Olympic history.
A ceremony outside a stadium
For the first time in the history of the Olympic Summer Games, the Opening Ceremony will not take place in a stadium. Paris 2024 is breaking new ground by bringing sports into the city and the same will be true of the Opening Ceremony, set to be held in the heart of the city along its main artery: the Seine.
A ceremony on the river
Taking on a new guise, the parade of athletes will be held on the Seine with boats for each national delegation. These boats will be equipped with cameras to allow television and online viewers to see the athletes up close. Winding their way from east to west, the 10,500 athletes will cross through the centre of Paris, the overall playing field for the Games on which these competitors will display their sporting prowess over the next 16 days. The parade will come to the end of its 6-kilometre route in front of the Trocadéro, where the remaining elements of Olympic protocol and final shows will take place.
A ceremony with free admission for many spectators
Holding a ceremony open to a large audience, with no admission fee for most of its spectators, is a major first. Fans won’t need tickets to access the upper quays, but those wishing to access the lower quays, from the Austerlitz bridge to the Iéna bridge, will need to buy tickets. Eighty giant screens and strategically placed speakers will allow everyone to enjoy the magical atmosphere of this show reverberating throughout the French capital. The Opening Ceremony for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will be the largest in Games history. It will be open to all: residents from Paris and its region, as well as visitors from all over France and around the world.
A ceremony designed for and by athletes
Athletes will be the heart and soul of the ceremony. By opening with the parade of athletes, Paris 2024 is breaking with tradition. Athletes will be featured on stage during the introduction to and throughout the ceremony as part of Paris 2024’s constant aim to hold Games created for and by athletes.
PARADE ROUTE
The river parade will follow the course of the Seine, from east to west over 6 kilometres. The parade will depart from the Austerlitz bridge beside the Jardin des Plantes and make its way around the two islands at the centre of the city (the Île Saint Louis and the Île de la Cité) before passing under several bridges and gateways. Athletes on board the parade boats will get glimpses of some of the official Games venues, including Parc Urbain La Concorde, the Esplanade des Invalides, the Grand Palais, and lastly the Iéna bridge where the parade will come to a stop before the ceremony’s finale at the Trocadéro.
INSTALLATION SCHEDULE FOR THE PLATFORMS AND BRIDGES
Installation operations will progressively take place in order to set up the grandstands and structures required for the opening ceremony. During the installation and dismantling phases, the footprint of the installations will be gradually increased. To ensure that access to the platforms, shops and other facilities is possible for as long as possible, we have worked on an adapted worksite methodology:
- Mid-June (June 17): Start of installation on the lower platforms
- End of June (26 June): Start of installation on the upper quays (partially impacted area open to traffic with occasional bypasses for cyclists or pedestrians)
- 8 July: Start of installation on the bridges with the Debilly pedestrian footbridge
- Until 14 July: the installation phases will be shortened and will take place mainly between 6am and 6pm on weekdays. The quays will therefore be open to all (tourists, sports enthusiasts, local residents, etc.) at weekends and at the end of the day in certain areas.
- After 14 July: Closure of the upper and lower quays to the general public, with access routes and paths maintained for local residents, businesses and their customers, and the emergency and security services;
- We have also collectively decided to maintain four bridges leading from one bank to the other until the 26 July, on which no facilities will be installed.
- 27 July-2 August: Part of the area will be freed up so that no work can be carried out on the banks of the Seine during the Olympic Games, and so that everyone can reclaim the quays and their activities.
- 29 July: Partial reopening to traffic of the upper quays (partially impacted area open to traffic with occasional bypasses for cyclists or pedestrians)
- 4 August: end of dismantling on the upper quays
- 12 August-25 August (Olympic Games - Paralympic Games transition): Clearance of the entire right-of-way (excluding the Alexandre III bridge used for the events on the Seine)
In the Trocadero sector, in the extension of the quays and bridges hosting the infrastructure for the Opening Ceremony, and then the Champions Park, the first developments have been underway since 20 March in the inner parts of the venue, with the first noticeable impact on traffic from 1 May.
On 1 July, the Trocadero Gardens and the Avenue des Nations Unies will be closed, and from 13 to 16 July will host the City of Paris' installations for the 14 July festivities, followed by the final installations for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENTS
- Île-de-France Mobilités and RATP will be gradually modifying bus services in the vicinity of the venues as soon as they are installed, in order to guarantee the continuity of the public transport service as far as possible and maintain services within Paris as much as possible. The lines concerned will be diverted, operated in two sections or limited depending on the events planned in the public space (opening ceremony, road races).
- Metro services will operate normally throughout the Games. Only the Tuileries, Concorde and Champs-Elysées Clémenceau stations will be closed (precise dates under study) due to their location within a competition venue or in the immediate vicinity.
- All this information is available to passengers on the Île-de-France Mobilités and RATP venues and applications.
GET THE INFORMATION YOU NEED AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE TO MAKE THE BEST POSSIBLE ARRANGEMENTS
Discover the Ministry of Transport's interactive map to help you plan your road and public transport journeys.
Find out more about the different security perimeters and special situations on the City of Paris venue.
As the Games approach, Paris 2024 and the public authorities responsible for these perimeters will provide the most accurate information possible to enable everyone to adapt to the different arrangements put in place for the Games period. You can find all the maps and information on these different security perimeters during the Games on the Préfecture de police venue.
