• The opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games promises to be exceptional on all levels, according to the organizing committee. This is the first time in the history of the modern Games that it will not take place in a stadium but on a river, the Seine.
  • For the organization, the logistics promises to be gigantic with the parade of a hundred boats carrying delegations, media, security, and the management of the many signs and houseboats that adorn the river.
  • Once the ceremony is over, traffic will return to a semblance of normal. The river will be reserved in the morning for the tests and its usual activity in the afternoon.

We are promised grandiose momentum. For the start of the 2024 Olympic Games, which will take place on July 26 next year, the organizers are thinking big. "Bold, original and unique", the Opening Ceremony "will mark Olympic history with great firsts".

And for good reason, for the first time in the history of the modern Games, it will not take place in a stadium. The theater of the ceremony will be the Seine, where 10,500 athletes will parade on a hundred boats and in front of 600,000 spectators. A true Roman triumph.

116 boats, 98% of which are Parisians

But this gigantic procession requires space and organization. However, the river is already well occupied in normal times. Barges, riverboats, river freight or restaurant boats, all will have to bend to the reality of the Games and worry about the place they will hold.

The Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (the "Cojo") confirms to 20 Minutes that the boats of the Seine will be well solicited. For the opening ceremony, a main fleet of 116 boats will be deployed to transport officials and delegations, including "98% from the Parisian environment". A secondary fleet will also infiltrate to allow television broadcasting, and journalists and photographers to be as close as possible to the action.

"Some boats are already selected," explains Olivier Jamey, president of the Paris Port Community, the association of economic and cultural actors of the river. Imperative to participate: have a large outdoor terrace: "It's a show for spectators and for television. You have to be able to see the athletes. »

Boats and barges "requisitioned" and compensated

"The boss told us that we would transport a delegation, but we will only be informed of the country at the last minute for security reasons," laughs Nathan*, an employee on a restaurant boat, who is already looking forward to being there.

For the occasion, the Cojo ensures that it has put in place "a single contracting policy for all identified companies: flat, transparent and fair rates". Enough to involve the "locals" and compensate them. Clever.

Because these ships will be "requisitioned" before the ceremony, as confirmed by Paris Seine, owner of a dozen boats, six of which will parade: "Throughout the previous week, we will work on organization and synchronization. " A real ballet.

The disenfranchised still hope

Everything seems to be in place for spectators and actors to enjoy. For others, on the other hand, it is the soup to the grimace. "Our restaurant has no terrace or engine," Chloé* whispers from the footbridge of her skird, which also floats in the center of Paris. Suffice to say that for us, it will be on TV. Because in addition to not being able to participate in the high mass, the restaurant will probably not be able to open its doors to welcome customers. "Because of Vigipirate, we will be closed. Even we, the employees, will not be able to access the dock. A disappointment for these merchants who welcomed the Olympics with happiness.



There remains the hope of a solicitation of On Location*, the company in charge of all the hospitality of Paris 2024, to host VIPs or an event on D-Day. An uncertainty in which is plunged a large part of the Parisian armada, which can not participate in the opening ceremony. "It's very tricky to talk about it because it negotiates 'dry'. We are discussing with the Cojo and shipowners' organizations to have either a paid role or compensation, "says the spokesman for a large shipowner of the Seine.

A negotiation that began at the end of 2021 for housing boats, these barges of individuals that give a bucolic aspect to the river. Of the hundred identified, 21 have been identified by the organization as "to be moved for the smooth running of the landing sequences of the athletes" which will take place over a few hundred meters at the Trocadero, near the Pont d'Iéna.

About twenty barges moved to Boulogne-Billancourt

Their fate is settled since they will be moved to Boulogne-Billancourt by the Paris police headquarters, and "Paris 2024" will fully take charge of the relocation and relocation operations. "They will have the choice between a hotel stay or a furnished rental at the expense of the organization. But they can very well decide to stay in their accommodation once it is relocated, "says a source of the Cojo.

Still, such an organization is full of a multitude of details that still remain unresolved. Hence the avowed concern of all the actors contacted on this subject. In particular, freight professionals for whom the Games arrive in the middle of the "cereal campaign", and for the construction industry for whom the Seine is an essential corridor for the proper functioning of Île-de-France.


However, they can rest assured for the rest of the Games, says Olivier Jamey. The Seine is not intended to remain closed to all traffic for the duration of the festivities. "All the events that will take place on the Seine (triathlon, open water swimming...) will end no later than 11 a.m. for the Olympic Games and noon for the Paralympics so that activities can resume one hour later. »

*First names have been changed at the request of interviewees

**Contacted by "20 Minutes", the company On Location has not yet responded to our requests

  • Local
  • Paris
  • Ile
  • Paris 2024 Olympics
  • Seine
  • Sport
  • Boat
  • Olympic Games