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 admission for many spectators

A ceremony open to as many people as possible is a first. 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 at 7.30 p.m. CET (10.30 a.m. in Los Angeles, 2.30 p.m. in Rio de Janeiro, 6.30 p.m. in London and 8.30 p.m. in Athens) 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.
• From July 18: Closure of the upper and lower quays to the general public, while maintaining access routes and walkways for local residents, businesses and their customers, and 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.