Opening Ceremony on the Seine, Torch Stand in the Garden for the First Time in 128 Years [Paris Olympics]

First 'Olympic City' Returning After 100 Years
Prospect of Korea's 100th Gold Medal Emergence

The 2024 Paris Olympics will have several features recorded as 'firsts' in the 128-year history of the Olympics. Paris, France, will host the 33rd Olympics in 2024, 100 years after hosting the 2nd Games in 1900 and the 8th Games in 1924. While 2,956 athletes from 44 countries participated in the 1924 Olympics, this year about 15,000 athletes from 206 countries will gather. Previously, Athens (Greece) hosted the Olympics in 1896 and 2004, and London (United Kingdom) held them in 1908, 1948, and 2012, but Paris is the first city to host the Olympics again after 100 years.

‘First-ever Water Entrance’ Opening Ceremony

The highlight of the Olympics, known as the 'Festival of the World,' is the opening ceremony. It will take place at 2:30 AM Korean time on the 27th. Teams from each country will enter, the Olympic flame will be carried, and a grand opening will be held. It is the largest global event watched by over 3 billion people worldwide. This opening ceremony will be held outdoors for the first time ever, not in a stadium. The organizing committee planned an 'open opening ceremony' outside the stadium three years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic and promoted a water and boat parade.

Around 100 boats will carry athletes from various countries along the Seine River, a symbol of Paris, France. The route starts from the Osterlitz Bridge near the Paris Botanical Garden and covers a 6 km section to the Trocad?ro Square near the Eiffel Tower. Athletes will pass famous Paris landmarks such as Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris City Hall, the Louvre Museum, the Orsay Museum, and Place de la Concorde before reaching near the Eiffel Tower. It is expected that between 300,000 and 600,000 people will watch this event. Among them, 100,000 spectators will watch from riverside seats for which tickets are sold at about 4 million KRW each.

On the afternoon of the 25th, one day before the opening of the Paris Olympics, facilities for watching the Olympic opening ceremony were completed along the Seine River in Paris.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

A sculpture of the Olympic rings is installed at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Even without sitting in the stands, people can freely cheer from nearby apartment balconies and other riverside locations. Additionally, cameras installed on the boats will broadcast athletes' images on large screens set up throughout Paris.

At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, a small cauldron was installed for 'low carbon' reasons. This time, the cauldron is also likely to be small and ignited in a different way. Traditionally, the Olympic cauldron is installed in the main stadium, but in Paris, it will be placed in the Tuileries Garden. The Tuileries Garden, located between the Louvre Museum and Place de la Concorde, is considered a representative park of Paris. Paris is determined to share the Olympic excitement with its citizens and showcase the city's beauty to the world.

The flame will be carried for 68 days by about 10,000 runners passing through 64 regions across France and will be finally ignited at the Paris Olympic opening ceremony. The identity of the final torchbearer is kept secret and will be revealed during the opening ceremony. There are rumors that the final torchbearers could be French track and field athlete Marie-Jos? P?rec, actor and film director Omar Sy, or football hero Zinedine Zidane.

Olympic Events at Eiffel Tower and Champs-?lys?es

The Paris Olympics will hold events outside stadiums at French landmarks and historic sites. Beach volleyball will be at the Eiffel Tower, fencing and taekwondo at the Grand Palais Museum, skateboarding and 3x3 basketball at Place de la Concorde, archery at the Champs de Mars lawn, basketball and equestrian events at the Palace of Versailles, and cycling on the Champs-?lys?es. Unlike past Olympics where new stadiums were built or old ones remodeled, Paris will use over 90% of existing facilities as venues to reduce carbon emissions and environmental pollution caused by construction and reconstruction.

On the 25th (local time), at the archery venue set up in Les Invalides, Paris, France, during the ranking round of the women's individual event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, archer Nam Su-hyun is organizing her arrows.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

South Korea will challenge its 100th gold medal overall. South Korea first participated in the 1948 London Olympics, and Yang Jeong-mo won the first gold medal in 1976 (Montreal). Holding a total of 96 gold medals, South Korea aims to add at least five more gold medals. Since this is considered a 'conservative goal,' achieving the 100th gold medal overall is expected to be not difficult.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.