The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are here, more concrete than ever... And with the opening ceremony taking place on July 26, 2024, many questions remain unanswered about the organization of the event, given its unprecedented nature (on the Seine, rather than in a stadium as is traditional), and the many inconveniences it will cause tourists and residents of the Paris region on that day.
But what can we expect from the July 26 festivities? Artists, happenings, a parade of athletes... An overview of the program, unveiled at a press conference on July 19, 2024!
The conference begins with Daphné Burki, artistic director of costumes for Paris 2024, who explains that performing on the Seine is a risk, and that she has had to adapt and adapt the artists' outfits, as they need to feel free in their clothes and movements.
He goes on to explain that all the costumes are fitted to each artist."The workshop has been running at full capacity for 4 months, representing hours of work and kilometers of fabric. One painting required around 12km of ribbon," she continues. The important thing is to show how clothes are worn in France. Clothes that will have another life behind them, with some artists wishing to keep them and others needing to reuse them for other shows. In all, some 15 young French designers and two fashion houses have been selected to create the costumes. The Seine will also play a key role in the ceremony.
It was Tony Estanguet and Thomas Joly 's turn to speak. They explain that a successful opening ceremony is important for the success of the Games, for the country's image, and for the pleasure of the athletes. The idea: to show that Paris stands out from the rest by thinking bigger and doing things that are totally new, while remaining realistic about the project's realization.
Tony Estanguet also points out that organizing a ceremony in the city is a real challenge. And Thomas Joly goes on to explain that the Seine is indeed at the heart of the project. "We saw the history of France unfolding along the river, with its monuments, architecture and the impact of Paris on cinema. The result is a plural, disparate, 360° narrative of France. France is constructed, deconstructed, plural," he says. He continues:"What I see coming out of the costume workshops, in the rehearsals, is dazzling. The time has come for this great puzzle to come together in the grand setting of the Seine".
It was a complex story to transpose into real life," adds the Artistic Director. He adds that 98% of the show is live, and that 2% of the scenes were recorded beforehand, notably for the scenes in the buildings along the Seine. To create this opening ceremony, the teams worked with software to recreate the 6km of the Seine used for the event, integrating all potentialities and hazards (rain, sunrise and sunset, etc.). A light that will also be used to enhance the ceremony, bringing a more magical atmosphere to the event.
A total of 85 boats carrying athletes will be on the Seine (94 according to the Préfecture de Police). However, the number of athletes on these boats has not been revealed.
Now it's the turn of Maud Le Pladec, Director of Ceremonies Dance and choreographer of the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, to speak. Like Tony Estanguet and Thomas Joly, she explains that this ceremony will be revolutionary, because it will be held on the Seine. A total of 300 male and female dancers will perform, mixing contemporary and urban dance with thearrival of breaking at the Games. The idea: to defend inclusion and diversity through different movements and styles.
Then Victor Le Masne, Musical Director of the ceremonies, takes up the torch:"We can expect huge things, new things. In terms of emotion, there's a real narrative that's been laid down," he says. Musically speaking, the idea is to represent France's diversity and rich musical diversity. We'll be moving fromopera to clubbing, via hip-hop and classical music.
A project"à la française, that we want to be chic, full of very intense qualities", explains Maud Le Pladec, pointing out that it involves an enormous amount of work and effort. A qualitative project in both the artistic and human sense. "We are artists at the service of a global event," she concludes.
A word on the dancers' strike:"The question of dancers' remuneration is one that touches me and concerns me closely. Paris 2024 is working very seriously on this issue, and there are important dialogues with the unions", says Maud Le Pladec.
Victor Le Masne continues:"Paris and the Seine aren't just a backdrop. It's an ecosystem with which we work in an ultra-creative way. The course of the Seine gives rhythm to the show, and the water and its movement influence the music and movements," he says. And he concludes:"We have to match what the athletes are going to experience and produce during these games, so we have to put on a strong show. However, there is no mention of the artists scheduled to perform at the ceremony, as the organizers are keen to keep the surprise going right to the end.
Bruno de Lavenère and Emmanuelle Favre, directors of scenography for the Paris 2024 Games Ceremonies, take the stage. "The project is ready, we're on schedule to implement it," begins Bruno de Lavenère. But that doesn't mean the work is finished:"What remains to be done is to finalize the elements already in place, and to support the choreographers," he continues.
The sets, meanwhile, are being built in parallel on the sites, which means that the dancers can't rehearse in real-life conditions. But one thing is certain:"It's a show for TV and also for those who will be on the quayside. There will be screens to show the passages filmed in the monuments", they explain.
As for the ceremony, the two scenography directors have tried"to be innovative, to be in tune with the times we live in, and to respect the environment". And Emmanuelle Favre adds:"It's very innovative because we mix theatricality, presentation of the athletes and theatrical passages".
As for the closing ceremony, Emmanuelle Favre is in charge. The closing ceremony will be different from the opening one, as it will take place at the Stade de France. "It's going to be quite theatrical," she continues. She adds:"The closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games will be very different and will be a real party".
As for the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games,"we can expect something quite exceptional, in a grand gesture that will put all our heroes on a pedestal" declares Bruno de Lavenère. The ceremony will be held in an exceptional location, at the crossroads of the Champs-Élysées and the Jardin des Tuileries, on the Place de la Concorde.
Paris 2024 Paralympic Games: date, channel, proceedings everything you need to know about the opening ceremony
The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games are here! For an incredible backdrop, the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games will take place on the Place de la Concorde, right in the heart of the capital, after the Seine for the Olympic version. [Read more]
A huge Stadium will be created. As far as the sets are concerned, the approach is fairly minimalist, but brings the elements together in a playful way, with reference to the monuments of Paris. And so concludes the press conference.
Information already revealed a few months earlier
Back in January, Thomas Jolly, artistic director of the Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies, gave AFP a few details of this closely-guarded ceremony. Organized as a river parade, the three-hour show will take place both on the river and on the quays, over a distance of almost six kilometers. Several hundred artists from the circus, dance, visual arts and music worlds will take part in the show, which will feature a dozen tableaux based on French heritage,"from the Austerlitz bridge to the Trocadero".
Around a hundred boats are scheduled to transport the delegations of athletes who will be crossing these tableaux. A tribute to Notre-Dame de Paris is also planned, to celebrate the cathedral's reopening at the end of the year. In terms of the themes and messages conveyed by the ceremony, Thomas Jolly wanted to tell "a story of what France is all about" through the monuments skirted,"so that everyone feels represented".
During this far from classic ceremony, the ceremonial elements will be integrated with the 45-minute artistic show and the two-hour parade, to create"a great homogeneous celebration". The show is due to start at 7:30 p.m., so as to draw "on the natural light of the setting sun with all its nuances" , and finish at around 11 p.m., with the lighting of the flame at the Trocadéro.
In the end, there won't be 500,000 people on the quays of the Seine for the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The capacity has been revised downwards to almost 200,000 fewer! [Read more]
A great evening ahead... And happy Olympics to all!
Paris 2024 Paralympic Games: date, channel, proceedings everything you need to know about the opening ceremony
Paris 2024 opening ceremony: the number of spectators on the quays of the Seine has finally been reduced
