Let the Games Begin!
Athletes from around the world train for long hours and many years to prepare for the competition known as the Olympics.
The opening ceremony kicks off the events with the host city planning festivities to show the world they are ready to welcome the athletes for the competitions.
This year the Olympics will be held from July 26 – August 11, 2024 in Paris, France with an opening celebration being talked about as the most elaborate ceremony ever held!
The start of the Olympics will be an exciting display on the Seine River that runs through the city of Paris. The festivities will make history as the first ever outdoor (and floating!) ceremony.
The ceremony kicks off with athletes and other well-known participants traveling down the Seine River on hundreds of specially-made decorated floats.
Even the French President, Emmanuel Macron said that he thought it sounded like “a crazy and not very serious idea” when he first heard about the plans for the opening ceremony to take part on the famous river with boats.
Every corner of the city is taking part in hosting different parts of the competition and people are excited to cheer on the athletes.
More than 10,000 athletes will take part in the opening presentation with political figures and thousands of performers. Paris is set to show the world how they can throw a party and kick off the 2024 summer games.
Who will be there?
The organizers say there are plenty of surprises in store. This opening ceremony will be the third time France has been the host for the Olympics. Basketball player LeBron James was announced as a flag bearer for the United States and tennis star Coco Gauff was chosen to fly the U.S. flag at the ceremony. First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff will also take part in the opening celebration.
What happens at an opening ceremony for the Olympics?
The beginning of the two-week event of the Olympics is always a spectacle in a stadium with all the athletes from the participating countries. There is music, a parade of athletes in their official Olympic uniforms, and flags that represent the participating countries.
The Paris Summer Olympics for 2024 will be the first time that the opening ceremony happens outside of a stadium. There is a “Parade of Nations” set to float down the Seine River in Paris in front of the Eiffel Tower. All of the 91 national delegations will have a float in the parade.
The leader of the American delegation will be First Lady Jill Biden with the U.S. ambassador to France, Denise Campbell Bauer and three-time Olympic medalists Dawn Staley and Brian Biotano. The parade will end in front of the Trocadéro and have performances to entertain the crowds. It all leads up to the ceremonial lighting of the Olympic torch.
The uniforms for the American athletes have once again been designed by Ralph Lauren. Lauren is an American designer who has created the team uniforms for the ninth time this year for the Olympic and Paralympic athletes. The uniforms will be worn by the flag bearers for the opening and closing ceremony parades for the Summer 2024 Paris Olympics.
Everyone wants to look their best when they represent their country on the world stage.
Fun fact:
During the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, the countries of Liechtenstein and Haiti discovered that their flags were exactly the same! Both flags had a design with two horizontal bands of blue and red. In order to avoid any future confusion, both countries made changes to their flags for the opening ceremony and made permanent changes in 1937.
