Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony likely to be marred by rainfall

The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics is expected to be marred by rainfall, as per French weather service, Meteo-France. 

The weather department has issued a warning that rainfall  could hit Paris in the evening, when the ceremony is hosted outside the premises of the stadium for the first time in the history of the event. 

The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm local time (11 PM IST) and will continue for over three hours. To ensure smooth functioning of the event, the French government had taken a huge undertaking to clean the streets and the river running through Paris.

Meteo France said that forecasts have yet to be confirmed, adding, “For the moment, the risk of showers during the opening ceremony cannot be ruled out.” 

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometres (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organisers said on July 25.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 3,20,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.