Paris Games: organizers predict 600,000 people at opening
Organizers of the 2024 Olympics (Paris) expect at least 600,000 people to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games along the Seine, as athletes and delegations navigate the river to inaugurate the Games.
Some 160 boats will depart on July 26 from Pont d'Austerlitz for the four-mile journey to the Pont d'Iena, in an event that Tony Estanguet, head of the organizing committee, describes as "unique and spectacular".
“We've been working on this for the past 12 months, it's the result of a collective effort with the IOC [International Olympic Committee] and all authorities. It has to be spectacular”, declared Estanguet in an interview with Reuters .
“It will be the first time that people will have free access to the opening ceremony, and not just in a stadium. It will also be a popular event”, he stated.
While the lower part of the seats will be reserved for sale at the box office, the upper part will be freely accessible.
“The Games are a once in a lifetime experience. We want people to feel that. [The boats] will pass by the iconic landmarks of Paris [Notre Dame, the Orsay and Louvre museums, the Pont Neuf, the Pont Alexandre III, the Grand Palais, the Eiffel Tower,” added Estanguet.
The project was approved by the IOC last month, and IOC president Thomas Bach said all security requirements would be met.
Text translated using artificial intelligence.
