2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony: Scenario, participants and where to watch
The Eiffel Tower has become one of the symbols of the 2024 Olympics (Getty Images)
The grand opening of the Summer Olympics in the French capital is scheduled for Friday evening. This large-scale event in Paris will attract thousands of Olympians, watched by tens of thousands of fans and millions of viewers worldwide.
Below are all the details about the opening ceremony and where to watch the start of the 2024 Olympic Games online and on which channels.
The opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics will take place on July 26. The event is set to be held on the Seine River in Paris, beginning at 8:30 PM Kyiv time. The ceremony will be broadcast live on the Pershyi and Suspilne (regional) channels and the Suspilne Sport platform (for Ukraine).
The ceremony has already been dubbed historic. The Olympic organizers have decided to depart from the traditional procession in the main arena. Instead, they will hold a parade of boats on the Seine, with the official presentation of athletes taking place at the Trocadero Square near the Eiffel Tower.
Thus, instead of a march on the athletic tracks, thousands of athletes will participate in a river procession, with the quays of the Seine serving as natural spectator stands. This open-space concept will make Paris 2024 the largest opening ceremony in terms of audience and geographic reach.
During the parade, nearly 100 boats will pass along the Seine, carrying representatives from over 200 countries. Athletes from smaller teams will share boats with other small sporting nations, while larger teams will have their own national boats.
The Olympic "regatta" will stretch 6 km westward from the Austerlitz Bridge, passing historical landmarks such as Notre Dame Cathedral and the Louvre Museum, ending at the Trocadero. The Olympic flame will be lit and the Games declared open at the square opposite the Eiffel Tower.
Photo: Athletes will run under a dozen Paris bridges (Getty Images)
Each team will have one or two flag bearers. Ukraine's flag will be carried by former world number three tennis player and Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Elina Svitolina. She will be the third woman in the history of Ukrainian sports to hold this role, following swimmer Yana Klochkova and shooter Olena Kostevych.
The content of the entertainment part of the opening ceremony remains a secret, with rumors even suggesting Lady Gaga's involvement. The artistic director of the event, theater director Thomas Jolly, has hinted at plans to unite France's cultural contrasts, so an eclectic musical accompaniment ranging from opera to rap is expected.
The athletes' attire will also be a chance to showcase their uniqueness. Most teams will don recognizable national colors, while the hosts and the US team aim to rival fashion weeks in Milan and Paris. Brazilian athletes' denim jackets will feature local fauna, and Guatemalan athletes' folk hats and bags will fit well on the boats.
Mongolian athletes' costumes have already caused a stir before the opening ceremony. National elements and intricate embroidery have been given new life by the local brand Michel&Amazonka. Alongside national symbols, their attire will also feature Olympic elements, including the Eiffel Tower and the Olympic flame.
Photo: Mongolia's national team costumes captivated the audience (instagram.com/michelamazonka)
Key numbers for the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony:
- 600,000 live spectators expected at the event
- 104,000 tickets sold for the event stands
- 400 dancers will accompany the boats along the route
- 206 country delegations will participate in the event
- 80 giant screens across Paris will display the event.
