It’s finally 2024 and this means it's the Olympics year! Of course, the pandemic made sure we had one less year to wait for the games, but now all eyes are on Paris and the rather ambitious opening ceremony the city has planned for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
Athlete Floating Parade
For the first time in Olympic history, the ceremony will not take place in a stadium. Instead, athletes and officials from over 200 countries will parade along a 6-kilometer stretch of the River Seine, on 160 boats. Yes, you read that right. On boats. Expected to be a groundbreaking and spectacular event, you expect it of Paris though, no? The city of all things extra! This not only will make for great television for people across the world, but opens up the ceremony for people in the city to line up along the Seine to watch these star athletes gear up for the highest stage in sports.
To add to the floating drama, the boats carrying each national delegation will be equipped with cameras, providing a close view of the athletes to television and online audiences. The parade is scheduled to begin at Pont d’Austerlitz in central Paris for a 6-km (3.7-mile) journey to the Pont d’Iena, near the Eiffel Tower, where the final elements of the Olympic protocol and concluding shows will take place. If, like me, you’re wondering about Mother Nature playing her role in this, then fear not. President Macaron has said that there are plenty of backup plans to address not only weather woes but also cyber-attacks and anything that might require adjustments to the ceremony's format or location.
Cleaning up the Seine
The Seine will also play host to swimming competitions in addition to the opening ceremony. This means that the tradition of swimming in the Seine will resume after nearly 100 years! Of course it’s still a task to get the whole river set for this. Sailing down is one thing! But having it ready for professional swimmers is a whole different ball game! If you’ve watched Disney movies including Ratatouille, you know that managing the 19th-century sewer network of Paris, which carries both rain and wastewater, is a solid task.
To work around this, Paris is constructing a massive concrete tank, known as a restitution and storage basin, near the Austerlitz train station. This tank will store 50,000 cubic meters of water during storms (that is the volume of 20 Olympic swimming pools) which will be pumped back into the sewage system after the storm, preventing it from being discharged into the river.
The Eiffel Tower goes Gold
The first person to get gold is not going to be an athlete. It’s The Iron Lady! We said “get” not win! And indeed the Eiffel Tower is set to get a fresh coat of gold paint. Yes, the Eiffel Tower is being painted in a new color specifically for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. This iconic landmark is undergoing its most extensive renovation in 130 years and will be painted a golden hue. The current brownish color of the tower will be replaced with a "yellow-brown" shade, which was actually the original color envisioned by Gustave Eiffel, the engineer behind the tower. This new hue is intended to reflect the yellowish limestone architecture of the surrounding city and also resonates with the golden theme of the Olympic medals. The newly-painted tower will serve as the backdrop for several Olympic events, including the triathlon and open-water swimming events in the Seine.
Check out the other Olympic events that will be taking place, and where you can watch them.
