The 2024 Olympic opening ceremony will be held on boats

The Paris 2024 Organizing Committee announced today that the popular river Seine that runs through Paris will serve as the venue to host the 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony. Athletes are set to travel on a six kilometer route by boat, as the general public cheers on from the river banks of the Seine.

The objective was to make the opening ceremony accessible to everyone,” Tony Estanguet, the Paris 2024 President, said in a press conference. Estanguet suggested the idea to hold the opening ceremony on the river back in March. The location for the ceremony was approved today by the Paris 2024 Board and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Ouh la la, c'est magnifique ???

It's official, the @Paris2024 opening ceremony will take place on the River Seine!

Absolutely can't wait ? pic.twitter.com/guzi15HYGK

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) December 13, 2021

Since the ceremony is outdoors, the host nation predicts that ten times more spectators will have access to and watch the event. This is the first time in recent Olympic history that an opening or closing ceremony will be held in an accessible public space. The Paris 2024 organizing committee plans on having over 600,000 spectators able to attend the opening ceremony free of charge.

If you are looking for front-row seats on the Seine, they will come at a cost. Organizers mentioned that popular viewing points on the river will be operating in paid ticketed zones.

The concept is a boat party and parade with delegations and athletes set to travel down the river on 170 boats The route will begin at the Pont d’Austerlitz, which is close to the French National Library. The Trocadéro Gardens will mark the end of the opening ceremony. The location was the site of the handover celebration during the conclusion of the Tokyo 2020 closing ceremony.