Paris is counting down the hours until the most ambitious Olympic opening ceremony in the history of the River Seine.
Up to 7,500 athletes will descend the six-kilometer stretch of the Seine in 85 boats on Friday evening (July 26), AFP reports. They will be accompanied by a spectacle combining French culture and Olympic values, which organizers promise will be spectacular.
Compared to the Tokyo Olympics, which were hit by the Kovid-19 pandemic and postponed by a year and opened in an empty stadium, the Paris ceremony will be held in front of 300,000 spectators and an audience of VIPs and celebrities from around the world.
The line-up of performers is a closely guarded secret, but it is rumored that American pop star Lady Gaga and French-Malian singer Aya Nakamura, the world's most listened-to French-speaking singer, will be among them.
The ceremony will take place amid an unprecedented security operation.
The center of Paris has been turned into a fortress with metal barriers on both banks of the Seine. Only residents and people with hotel reservations can enter the high-security zone.
Police snipers will be stationed at every high point along the route.
The Israeli and Palestinian teams will receive extra security as there are fears that tensions caused by the Israeli offensive in Gaza will be a potential motive for possible attacks. | BGNES
