The 2024 Paris Olympics is set to conduct its opening ceremony on 26 July 2024. The opening event would be the first in history to be held on a river instead of a stadium. The French administration has left no stone unturned to clean the river Seine and its whereabouts for the August event.
The Seine holds significant importance in the 2024 Olympics as the Olympics triathlon and open-water swimming are to occur from 30-31 July and 5 August and 8-9 August, respectively. Several French dignitaries took a swim in the Seine in the last few weeks to ascertain the cleanliness of the river water. Among them were Ms. Anne Hidalgo, Paris’ mayor; Paris 2024 chief Mr. Tony Estanguet; government official Mr. Marc Guillaume; and Amelie Oudea-Castera, the French Sports Minister.
Ahead of the opening Ceremony, the Olympic Torch Relay took place on 25 July 2024. The Relay was sponsored by Coca-Cola, Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne. More than 200 torchbearers took turns carrying the Olympic Torch from Noisy-le-Grand to Parc Georges Valbon. Among the torchbearers was Ms. Tilotama Ikareth, the twenty-year-old para-taekwondo trainee in France. Born to a French mother and Indian father, Tilotama wishes to participate in the 2028 Paralympics. She described the experience of carrying the Olympic Torch as a crucial moment in representing the spirit of the Olympic Games. With her participation in the Olympic Torch Relay and later in the Paralympics, she wishes to show that with the support of one’s community, disability need not be a barrier to achieving one’s dreams.
The torch passed through several important sites of French history, including Bagnolet, Aubervilliers, and La Courneuve. Sarah Ourahmoune, an unrivalled French boxer, finally passed the torch to Lilian Thuram for the ‘torch kiss’.Lilian Thuram, the legendary former French footballer, lit the cauldron in Parc Georges Valbon, La Courneuve.
The opening ceremony will witness a procession from the Austerlitz bridge, winding through important Parisian landmarks like Notre Dame Cathedral, Pont des Arts, and Pont Neuf. It will conclude near the Eiffel Tower. There will be music performances at every crucial site. The opening ceremony will include a Parade of Nations, which began in the 1908 London Olympics. It will have more than 80 heads of state and government and 3,00,000 spectators. Greece will customarily lead the Parade, marking its importance as the host of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. The refugee Olympic Team will follow it. The remaining countries will march alphabetically according to the French language. France, as the host, will march in the end.
The Olympics became a crucial point of intervention by French President Emmanuel Macron to launch the “Sport for Sustainable Development” Summit in Paris. According to Amelie Oudea-Castera, the Summit gave a much-needed impetus to strengthen “the place of sport in our societies and its impact on education, health, equality and inclusion, in the form of ‘The Paris Agreement for sport and Sustainable development.’” Several international sporting organisations like IOC (International Olympic Committee), FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), and NBA (National Basketball Association) pledged to contribute more to sports financing.
While Archery, Football, Handball, and Rugby have already begun, the next few days are yet to see an exciting volley of games. Events like Rowing, Tennis, Table Tennis, Hockey, Boxing and Canoe Slalom are scheduled for 27 July. Medal events like Shooting, Diving, Cycling (road), and Fencing will also take place on 27 July.
