An armchair information to watching the Olympic opening cermony

With an anticipated ten thousand athletes parading via the center of Paris, Friday’s Olympic opening ceremony guarantees a spectacle par excellence.

Most of the particulars have been saved secret, so count on loads of surprises.

The ceremony begins at 18:30 BST on Friday, and can final just below 4 hours.

Listed below are among the issues to be careful for in the course of the curtain-raiser, which you’ll be able to watch reside on the BBC.

For the primary time, the ceremony will happen not in a stadium, however within the coronary heart of a metropolis. The world’s Olympic groups are set to parade alongside the River Seine in boats, watched by about 300,000 spectators in a show directed by Thomas Jolly, the ceremony’s creative director.

The flotilla will carry greater than 10,000 athletes alongside a six mile (3.7km) route alongside the waterway, which has been beneath intense scrutiny for its cleanliness.

Organisers hope Friday’s spectacle is free-flowing, amid a mammoth safety operation that may contain tens of 1000’s of police.

Earlier this yr, French President Emmanuel Macron admitted {that a} plan B (and a plan C) had been put collectively in case the challenges proved insurmountable.

The boats will cross among the metropolis’s best-known bridges and landmarks on their journey in the course of the night – together with Notre-Dame cathedral and, naturally, the Eiffel Tower – earlier than reaching the Trocadéro.

It can conclude because the solar units over the town’s west, which organisers hope will additional solidify the legend of the Metropolis of Lights. Video games president Tony Estanguet has promised the timing will make the present “extra chic, with a really poetic dimension”.

(And by the way in which – theories differ as as to whether the French capital earned its nickname as a luminous centre of mind and creativity, or as a result of manner it reportedly embraced avenue lighting early within the know-how’s improvement.)

Organisers are promising cameras on every boat to point out the celebs up shut.

However what stays to be seen is strictly how this association scales up and down for Olympic delegations of various sizes.

The USA, for instance, is sending simply shy of 600 opponents whereas some smaller nations are being represented by only a single competitor every.

Dozens of vessels can be used, with assist enlisted from native boat corporations.

The highlight can be shone on these athletes given the job of carrying their staff’s flag. A pair of British Olympic veterans – diver Tom Daley and rower Helen Glover – have been provided that duty for Staff GB.

Jolly has signed up 3,000 performers – together with musicians and 400 dancers on bridges – although he is remained tight-lipped about who the well-known names are.

It has been recommended that French-Malian R&B star Aya Nakamura might be among the many musical acts, because the world’s most-streamed French-language artist.

That is still unconfirmed, and has confirmed unpopular with the French far-right, which has argued that her music owes extra to Africa and the US than to France. Nakamura was prompted to answer to 1 group: “What do I owe you? Nothing.”

There’s been some hypothesis that Canadian star Céline Dion – who sings in French and English – may carry out, after she was seen within the French capital earlier this week. Once more, nothing is confirmed, however a efficiency would symbolize a comeback for Dion, who cancelled exhibits after revealing in 2022 that she had a uncommon neurological situation referred to as Stiff Particular person Syndrome.

Woman Gaga, too, has been noticed in Paris – stoking rumours that she may play her personal half. However any Daft Punk followers hoping to “get fortunate” with a efficiency from the French duo had been left disillusioned when the act shot down any rumours they’d participate.

The Olympic torch travelled to the French capital from Greece in a large relay that started greater than three months in the past. As a part of its journey, the torch was briefly transported on the world’s longest rowing boat – the 24-seat Stampfli Specific.

As for who will get the honour of lighting the Olympic cauldron – custom dictates that the identification of the ultimate torchbearer stays a secret till the massive televised reveal.

That obligation has beforehand fallen to the likes of Muhammad Ali in Atlanta in 1996 and to Aboriginal sprinter Cathy Freeman in Sydney 4 years later.

Amongst those that’ve carried the torch to this point are French former footballer Thierry Henry and judo star Romane Dicko. Rapper Snoop Dogg may also have a task in carrying the torch within the last levels of the relay earlier than the opening ceremony begins.

With the athletes’ parade all the time comes a daring array of appears – not least when the Olympics are going down this time in one of many world’s fashion capitals.

Staff USA and Staff GB can be kitted out by Ralph Lauren and Ben Sherman respectively. Different eye-catching outfits come courtesy of Stella Jean, whose designs for Haiti are designed to challenge a vibrant picture of the Caribbean nation.

The occasion’s organisers say some 3,000 distinctive costumes have been made for each the Olympic and Paralympic opening and shutting ceremonies in a secretive workshop close to Paris. Many can be made from recycled supplies because the Video games appears to emphasize its inexperienced ethos.

The lady stitching collectively this a part of the visible spectacle is Daphné Bürki, who says she has been preparing for the “greatest present of the twenty first century 4 occasions over”.

Maintain your eyes peeled for sporting superstars among the many athletes’ contingent.

However we additionally count on to see celebrities and dignitaries of all types within the crowd, with greater than 100 heads of state and authorities as a consequence of attend, in accordance with Reuters.

US First Woman Jill Biden and Argentine President Javier Milei are among the many anticipated attendees, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and Olympic chief Thomas Bach.

Elizabeth II appeared on the London 2012 curtain-raiser – and never simply in her filmed look with Daniel Craig.

The opening ceremony can be proven reside from 17:45 BST on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport web site and app.

You may tune in to radio protection on BBC Radio 5 Stay and BBC Sounds from 19:00 BST.

There may also be reside textual content protection on the BBC Sport web site and app bringing you the perfect of the occasion from Paris.