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Paris Olympic Games are set to kick off on July 26 with the opening ceremony, which will be one of a kind. The opening ceremony at the Paris Games will be the first one to be held outside the Stadium as the much-anticipated event will take place along the Seine River.
The traditional parade of the athletes will take place in boats along the Seine and not on the tracks of a Stadium, as seen in the opening ceremonies of the previous Games. Around 100 boats will carry an estimated 10,500 athletes along the Seine. The boats will pass through the iconic Parisian landmarks.
206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) will take part in the Summer Games and the larger of those NOCs will have boats of themselves, while the smaller contingents will share the boats.
What will be the route of the boats at the opening ceremony?
The parade will begin from Austerlitz Bridge, which is next to the Jardin des Plantes. It will continue for 6 kilometres towards the west along the river, passing through some iconic bridges and landmarks like Notre-Dame and the Louvre. It will also see some venues of the Games including the Esplanade des Invalides and the Grand Palais.
The boats carrying the athletes will arrive opposite the Trocadero, where the protocols will take place. The Games will then be declared open after lighting the Olympic cauldron.
When will the opening ceremony take place?
The opening ceremony of the Paris Games will take place on July 26. It is expected to start at 19:30 CEST, which is 11 PM IST and will last for over three hours.
Where to watch the live telecast of the opening ceremony?
While France has made arrangements for 600,000 people to watch the ceremony in person, fans can catch the event from the comfort of their homes.
In India, Viacom18 Media Private Limited (Viacom18) has secured the exclusive media rights to broadcast the Paris Games. It will also provide viewership in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
In India, a fan can watch the opening ceremony on the Sports 18 network. The live streaming of the event will be available on the Jio Cinema app and website.