Host country France is preparing to hold a grand opening ceremony for the ‘2024 Olympic Games’ tonight. Athletes will sail 6 kilometers down the Seine River, passing through 12 performance zones and many important places before ending in front of the Eiffel Tower.
The opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games will take place in Paris, France tonight at 7:30 p.m. local time, or 12:30 a.m. Thai time, with French President Emmanuel Macron presiding over the ceremony, who will walk into the ceremony with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach at the Trocadero near the Eiffel Tower, which is a temporary venue for the ceremony.
The parade of athletes will sail 85 boats, starting from the Dousterglitz Bridge, 6 kilometers from east to west along the Seine River. Along the way, there will be shows that convey the arts, culture, performances, and traditional French games, divided into 12 different zones, with more than 2,000 performers. In addition, during the cruise on the Seine River, the boats wi
ll pass important landmarks of Paris, such as Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre Museum, La Concorde Square, and the Eiffel Tower, amidst 300,000 spectators in the area.
And it is expected that there will be more than 3 billion viewers worldwide. International media estimate that the host will spend only 100 million euros or 3.9 billion baht on the opening ceremony, lasting a full 4 hours. Tickets are available at the lowest price of 90 euros or about 3,500 baht, and the highest price is 2,700 euros or 105,000 baht.
For the Thai athletes, ‘Bew’ Phuripol Boonson, a Thai national sprinter and silver medalist at the 2022 Asian Games, will be the flag bearer for the male group, and ‘Nong ST’ Wareeya Sukkasem, a 12-year-old female Thai national skateboarder and 5th place at the 2022 Asian Games, will be the flag bearer for the female group. Mr. Sermsak Pongpanich, Minister of Tourism and Sports, will be the representative of Mr. Settha Thavisin, Prime Minister, to join the opening ceremony. As for lighting the tor
ch in the cauldron, it is still a secret, both the person lighting it and the method of lighting it. The favorite is Marie José Perec, a former female sprinter and middle-distance runner, owner of 3 Olympic gold medals.
Meanwhile, leaders from various countries have arrived in France. Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, held an IOC dinner reception at the Louvre Museum. Leaders and representatives of leaders such as Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, Polish President Andrzej Duda, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, Prince Albert II, Head of State of Monaco, and Princess Charlene of Monaco attended the event.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the Olympics were a matter of dignity, and that many teams would be here, despite tensions between countries, but that was the beauty of sport. – Thai News Agency
Source: Thai News Agency