The XXXIII Summer Olympic Games in Paris will be officially opened with a unique ceremony in the French capital on Friday, July 26. For the first time in history, the opening ceremony will not be held in a stadium. Instead, the hosts opted for the traditional parade of athletes to take place along the Seine River.
About 7,000 athletes are expected to cross the 6-kilometer route along the river on board 94 boats. Estimates are that between 300,000 and half a million people will watch the ceremony live by the Seine. In addition, the Parisian river will host part of the swimming competitions, for which the organizers have made great efforts in recent years to clean it to swimmable levels.
The chosen route starts at the Austerlitz Bridge and ends at the Eiffel Tower, where the Olympic flame will be lit. The ceremony will start at 20:30 Bulgarian time and will end shortly after midnight. Traditionally, the Greek delegation, led by NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo, will be the first to be introduced. The Greeks will be followed by the refugee team, and the hosts from France will be the last in the athletes' parade. Athletes from Russia and Belarus, who received the right to participate in the Olympics as neutral athletes, will not participate in the ceremony.
The Bulgarian delegation includes 45 athletes in 16 different sports, which is a slight increase compared to the Olympics in Tokyo three years ago, when we had 42 athletes in 14 sports. The standard bearers of Bulgaria will be the boxer Stanimira Petrova and the swimmer Lyubomir Epitropov. Traditionally, Bulgaria's best hopes for medals come from rhythmic gymnastics, bars, wrestling and boxing.
Many of the details of the ceremony are being kept under wraps, including who will light the Olympic flame, with French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane one of the favorites. There is also a mystery surrounding the performers, with global stars Lady Gaga and Celine Dion among the names linked. "I want to show France in all its diversity," says French actor and director Thomas Joly, who is the artistic director of the ceremony. "To demonstrate its richness and variety, shaped by history, which has been influenced by different cultures," he adds.
About 120 high-ranking representatives of countries from all over the world will attend the ceremony. On the Bulgarian side, President Rumen Radev is expected to be there. Guests at the ceremony will also be the president of BOK Stefka Kostadinova, the minister of sports Georgi Glushkov and the president of the Volleyball Federation Lubo Ganev.
Paris has deployed unprecedented security measures for the opening ceremony, with a total of 45,000 police officers to enforce order, including those from Britain, Spain and Qatar. For more than a week, the city center has been completely blocked and passage is only possible with a special accreditation in the form of a QR code. The passage of cars is also prohibited. The delegations of Israel and Ukraine have special protection status.
In Paris, 10,714 athletes from 206 Olympic Committees will participate, and for the first time their number is equally divided between men and women. They will compete for a total of 329 sets of medals in 32 sports. In the French capital, breakdancing will make its Olympic debut. In addition to Paris, competitions will be held in 16 other cities, as well as on the island of Tahiti in the Pacific Ocean, where the battles in surfing will take place.
The closing ceremony of the Olympics will be held at the Stade de France in Paris on August 11, when the baton will be handed over to the host of the next Games - Los Angeles 2028. | BGNES
