Summer on the Seine: Boat parade welcomes athletes to Paris 2024

The Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony is causing somewhat of a “Seine” in the news. OK, that was an admittedly ridiculous pun, but the crux of the statement remains true. Airing live from Paris, France, Friday, July 26, on NBC and Peacock, the 2024 Summer Olympic Games are the first iteration of the long-running athletic tradition to host its opening ceremony (and many events) outside of a stadium.

The reason for this decision is not for a lack of stadiums — Paris has several sporting venues, which, like Stade de France, could accommodate large-scale crowds. The organizers preferred to have the ceremony, rather romantically, lit by sunset.

Due to kick off the festivities at 7:30 p.m. CET (10:30 a.m. in Los Angeles, or 1:30 p.m. New York time, for more local reference), the Opening Ceremony sees the 10,500 athletes parade in by way of 94 boats on the Seine, leaving the Pont d’Austerlitz, in the east, and headed to Pont d’Iéna, six kilometers to the west. With one boat to carry all the athletes from each competing country, as well as 80 jumbo screens with speakers and free viewing areas for the public, there is little doubt that the colorful procession will be the busiest and most beautiful start to any Olympics yet.

According to Olympics.com, “athletes on board the parade boats will get glimpses of some of the official Games venues, including Parc Urbain La Concorde, the Esplanade des Invalides, the Grand Palais, and lastly the Iéna bridge, where the parade will come to a stop before the ceremony’s finale at the Trocadéro.”

Along the parade route, 12 “artistic tableaux” are presented, drawing attention to the capital city’s famous monuments, architecture and history.

“We are delighted to have an opening ceremony that illustrates the meeting between sport and the city in the most beautiful way,” said Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 organizing committee. “With the natural light of the setting sun, the event will be even more sublime, with a truly poetic dimension, inviting both athletes and the public to appreciate the natural beauty of the City of Light.”

While the list of Opening Ceremony performers is still a secret (as of writing), the Games’ official website does promise “a unique multi-sensory spectacle ... [that] take[s] sport out of the stadiums and open[s] up the Games.”

As for NBC’s coverage of the event, “Sunday Night Football” host Mike Tirico covers his fourth Olympic Opening Ceremony, this time alongside NFL Hall-of-Famer Peyton Manning (“Peyton’s Places”) and the first-ever “American Idol,” Kelly Clarkson. NBC morning favorites Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb will also host a special edition of “Today” from a bridge over the Seine.

Rapper/entrepreneur Snoop Dogg also has plans to report for NBC from various live evening events over the Games’ 16-day run.