Paris prepares for the Olympic opening ceremony on the River Seine

We’re stay running a blog the opening ceremony all through the afternoon. Head to our newest updates right here.

PARIS — The Olympics kick-off occasion is right here. An amphibious opening ceremony is happening on the River Seine on the coronary heart of the town, an out of doors bash that for the primary time within the trendy Video games period gained’t be held outdoors in a stadium. The ceremony ends on land, with the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower.

NPR might be there to look at all of it unfold, so keep tuned: This story might be up to date all through the festivities.

A historic opening ceremony

A parade of greater than 10,000 athletes will float down a 3.7-mile stretch of the Seine. Some 300,000 spectators are anticipated to attend — most of whom can pay no admission payment to look at the parade from the river’s banks.

The parade will journey east to west, passing by main landmarks just like the Grand Palais. The parade is about to finish on the Pont d’Iéna bridge earlier than a finale present on the Trocadéro, reverse the Eiffel Tower.

The route additionally excursions a number of the metropolis’s momentary sports activities venues, together with an out of doors enviornment abutting the Eiffel Tower the place seaside volleyball video games will happen.

A technician drives in a cart by reproductions of artworks adorning the banks of the River Seine, the day earlier than the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer season Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Picture/Vadim Ghirda)

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Vadim Ghirda/AP

An intense safety presence

The open-air venue has invited severe safety issues, and officers have locked down the town in anticipation. Tens of 1000’s of police and navy personnel have descended upon the town. Closed roads and bridges at and across the Seine are exacerbating crowd and visitors congestion.

At the very least one incident has already rattled safety posture. This morning, authorities mentioned a “coordinated” arson assault on the French rail community introduced the system to a standstill.

A starry American lineup

As the 2 flagbearers for the US, tennis star Coco Gauff and NBA’s prime scorer LeBron James will wave the crimson, white and blue throughout the procession.

Current sightings of Celine Dion and Woman Gaga in Paris, and the hints which have dropped since, heightened expectations that the pop phenoms will carry out a duet throughout the bash. It could be a exceptional Olympics return for Dion — she carried out on the opening ceremony on the Atlanta Video games in 1996. In recent times, the French-Canadian has needed to step away from performing resulting from a uncommon and persistent neurological dysfunction generally known as stiff-person syndrome that causes extreme muscle spasms. Her final stay efficiency was in New York in 2020.

Snoop Dogg carries the Olympic torch on the 2024 Summer season Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024, in Saint-Denis, outdoors Paris, France.

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Aurelien Morissard/AP

There’s loads of stateside star energy within the torch relay, too. Snoop Dogg, Pharrell, Selma Hayek, have already all contributed to the working of the torch. When the torch makes its method to the one who will mild the cauldron’s flame (that torchbearer is historically saved below wraps till the final minute) the video games formally start.

When and easy methods to watch

The opening ceremony begins at 1:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. in Paris) and is predicted to final a little bit over 4 hours. The touring ceremony will float alongside the Seine from east to west, ending with a remaining present on the Trocadéro.

NBC kicks off protection with a preview present beginning at midday ET. It can broadcast the complete ceremony stay on TV and stream it through Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com and the NBC/NBC Sports activities apps.