PARIS: 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 for the hugely ambitious opening ceremony 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 the main athletics stadium, with competitors and officials set to travel through Paris on a flotilla of more than 100 vessels.

“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.

All circulation was stopped on the river through the centre of the City of Light on Monday morning as the vessels sailed the route which is set to be taken next July by delegations of competitors, as well as TV crews and emergency services.

Guaranteeing security for participants as well as a crowd of several hundred thousand people on the banks of the Seine is an enormous challenge for organisers.

Around 40 boats simulating the arrival of delegations sailed on Monday, with another 18 vessels being used by emergency services, organisers and the host broadcaster.

“We need to test a new way of filming of the ceremony,” event director Thierry Reboul said in advance. “We just tried to do something different.

“If you want people to remember the games, you need to offer them something they have never seen before. People will be welcomed to the 2024 Olympic games as they have never been welcomed before”.

The choreography is being done by French theatre director Thomas Jolly, 41, whose plans remain a secret.

Tickets for around 100,000 prize spots along the river have been sold by organisers, with several hundred thousand people set to be authorised to watch for free from the banks of the river.

The traditional torch relay leading up the games has also been hailed as “unbelievable” by Estanguet.

The 80-day relay will see the torch carried from Greece by boat to the southern port of Marseille before featuring at the famed Mont Saint Michel in northern France, the Chateau de Versailles and the French Caribbean.

The Paris Olympics are set to take place from July 26 to August 11.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2023