How the Paris 2024 opening ceremony is preparing: an unprecedented show and a real puzzle

Between the desire to offer the world an unprecedented show and the limitations imposed by security, the preparation of the opening ceremony of the Paris-2024 Olympic Games, a parade of boats on the Seine, is a real puzzle.

The image must be unforgettable and the show magnificentas the French president wishes Emmanuel Macron. But there is no precedent to watch for the Games’ first opening ceremony outside the Olympic stadium. All actors involved: The state, the organizing committee (Lame) and the city of Paris are aware of the challenge.

- Advertisement -

On July 26, 2024 at 20:24 local time, more than a hundred boats with delegations of athletes from each country the Seine will descend, from the Austerlitz bridge to the Eiffel Tower: six kilometers through Paris in front of 600,000 spectators and an arrival set for 11.50pm.

But less than a year and a half before the big day, the format of this nautical stage, imagined by Macron and the mayor of Paris, Anna Hidalgois not yet fully defined, especially as regards the number of viewers. In November, the French interior minister, Gerald Darmannhe said it around 100,000 spectators will pay entrance to follow the ceremony from the banks of the river, while others 500,000 they will participate for free – but with a ticket – from a more remote location .

Tickets will allow access to the “high basins”. “A ticket will be used to enter an area, you will not be able to walk from Bercy to the Trocadero,” he explained. Pierre Rabadanattaché to the mayor in charge of the Games. Even the public will not be able to walk on the bridges. Some will be reserved for logistics, lighting, sound systems and emergency services in the event of an evacuation. Others will be occupied by paying spectators.

For the moment the figure of 600,000 people has not been questioned, but some believe that it will be better to reduce it to 500,000 or 400,000 for security reasons. Rabadan believes that beyond the number of spectators, “the real question” will be the total number of people that day in the Parisian public space: “No doubt more than a million”.

Nearly 100 boats will be dedicated to sports delegations. “There are questions about the number of delegations who will refuse to parade, as well as those who would not like to share a boat,” explains an organization manager. “About twenty” boats dedicated to safety and others reserved for the lame for shows and to tow those who suffer a breakdown will be added to the fleet of the countries. In total, the number of vessels could be closer to 150, according to a senior official. .

For the opening ceremony, Darmanin plans to mobilize “35,000 police and gendarmes”. The minister will have 30,000 security force personnel a day for the duration of the Games, from 26 July to 11 August. In addition, he estimated 25,000 private security agents who will be responsible for the competition venues, under the responsibility of El Cojo. By the end of February, only 3,000 had been recruited and 1,800 were in training, according to the prefecture of the Ile de France region. The Directorate General of Internal Security (DGSI) and other intelligence services will also mobilize due to the very high threats surrounding events of the caliber of the Games.