PARIS (Reuters) – A flotilla of 39 boats sailed from the Austerlitz Bridge to the foot of the Eiffel Tower on Monday morning as Paris 2024 organisers tested the 6 km (3.7 mile) route along the Seine river that will kick off the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
The opening ceremony, expected to draw at least 600,000 spectators and see 50 boats sailing the route, will be the first one in the history of the Summer Olympics to be held outside a stadium.
“We learned today that it’s technically feasible”, head of the organising committee Tony Estanguet said, adding they were also able to test how much time is needed between the boats and how to solve potential issues like boat engine problems.
“We just tried to do something different”, events and ceremonies director Thierry Reboul said. “If you want people to remember the games, you need to offer them something they have never seen before”, adding people will be welcomed to the 2024 Olympic games “as they have never been welcomed before”.
While the lower part of the river bank will be subject to ticketing, there will be free access to the upper part.
(Reporting by Yiming Woo, Writing by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Editing by William Maclean)
