The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will kick off with a groundbreaking opening ceremony along the River Seine this Friday evening.
For the first time in Olympic history, the ceremony will not take place in a stadium.
“Paris 2024 is setting a new precedent by bringing the Games into the city itself, and the Opening Ceremony will reflect this innovation, unfolding along the Seine, the city’s central artery,” said the Paris 2024 organizers.
“The river parade will follow the course of the Seine, from east to west over 6 kilometers (3.7 miles),” they added, noting that nearly 100 boats will carry 10,500 athletes competing for medals at Paris 2024.
The event will be open to the general public.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to open the Games.
The athletes, who will represent 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), and nearly 120 heads of state, sovereigns and heads of government are expected to attend the Games.
329 medal events across 32 sports
A total of 329 events will be held during the 2024 Summer Olympics from July 26 to Aug. 11.
During the 19 days of competition, handball, football and rugby matches will begin on July 24, a couple of days before the opening ceremony.
Paris 2024 will feature 32 sports disciplines, including four additional sports: surfing, climbing, skateboarding and breaking, a dance sport.
In addition to the participating countries, there will be an IOC (International Olympic Committee) Refugee Olympic Team. In May, the IOC announced the largest-ever Refugee Olympic Team for Paris 2024, consisting of 36 athletes.
The Refugee Olympic Team will compete for the third time, having first been introduced at Rio 2016 with 10 athletes. The Tokyo 2020 team included 29 displaced athletes.
The 36 athletes from 11 different countries of origin will compete in 12 sporting disciplines at Paris 2024, including swimming, athletics, boxing, road cycling, judo, taekwondo, weightlifting and wrestling.
Billions are expected to watch Paris 2024 on TV, and millions of spectators will attend events at 35 venues.
There will be 754 sessions (competitions and ceremonies) during the Games in the French capital.
Additionally, 45,000 volunteers and 20,000 accredited journalists will work during the Paris Games.
35 venues to host events
The Paris Games will be held at 35 venues, including Stade de France, Parc des Princes and Stade Roland-Garros, across the country.
The athletes will compete not only in Paris but also at sports venues around France and its territories.
Venues outside Paris include Bordeaux Stadium, Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium in Saint-Etienne, La Beaujoire Stadium in Nantes, Lyon Stadium, Marseille Stadium, Nice Stadium, and Pierre-Mauroy Stadium in Lille.
Separately, Tahiti’s Teahupo’o will host the summer Games’ surfing competitions as athletes vie for medals in the Pacific Ocean waves.
Tahiti is the largest island in French Polynesia.
Eiffel Tower’s metal chunks
The Paris 2024 Olympic medals feature a hexagonal piece of iron from the Eiffel Tower at the center of a large round radiant medal.
The reverse side of the 2024 medal depicts the ancient Greek goddess of victory, Nike.
Additionally, Nike is portrayed emerging from Athens’ Panathenaic Stadium, which was an Olympic venue in 2004 and hosted the first modern Games in 1896.
The Paris 2024 medal design includes the Acropolis of Athens, the Eiffel Tower and the Olympic rings surrounding Nike.
