What time is the Olympics opening ceremony, what to expect, and how to watch it in the UK
The Paris Olympics is set to begin on July 26 and run until August 11. (Getty)
The 2024 Olympics are now just days away, but, of course, not everyone is lucky enough to be able to visit Paris. So, we’ve compiled everything you need to know about the opening ceremony.
The French capital last staged The Games exactly 100 years ago and this will be the third time they’ve played host to the great festival of sporting achievement.
“We really wish to make Paris 2024 the first ‘Games Wide Open’ and we are fully dedicated to bringing this concept to life,” said the head of the organising committee, Tony Estanguet – himself an Olympic champion.
When is the Olympics opening ceremony?
The opening ceremony is on Friday 26 July 2024.
What should you expect from the opening ceremony?
As with past opening ceremonies, each country will “perform” and showcase their athletes, usually dressed in clothing that represents their national pride and cultural backgrounds.
However, in a break from tradition, the event will start on the River Seine rather than in a stadium. There will be a parade of boats, one for every national delegation. Each will have a camera so viewers at home will be able to get a close-up view of the athletes and their outfits.
The parade will follow the course of the river from east to west, starting from the Austerlitz bridge beside the Jardin des Plantes at 7.30pm local time, that’s 6.30pm in the UK (1.30pm on the East Coast of the US, 10.30am on the West).
It will move along the Seine until they reach the Trocadéro, where the final shows will take place.
How can you watch the Olympics opening ceremony in the UK?
BBC1 will show the ceremony, with the programme starting at 5.45pm. Lesbian presenter Clare Balding will be live in Paris.
Events will be shown on BBC One and BBC Two. Viewers with access to Freeview, a smart TV, the BBC sport website or BBC iPlayer will also be able to watch.
There will be reduced coverage on the BBC compared with previous years because Discovery+ owns the rights and will air content across all Eurosport channels in the UK from 7am to 10.30pm every day.
The Discovery+ app will also have extensive coverage for a monthly fee of £3.99.
The opening ceremony will be available to watch through all these services.
You can read all of our Paris Olympics 2024 coverage here.
