In an effort to make the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics accessible to all, the City of Paris will distribute 55,000 tickets, targeting families in underprivileged neighbourhoods.
It would be the first time the Opening Ceremony, slated for July 26, will take place outside a stadium, bringing the spectacle directly to the public. That number is almost enough to fill the iconic Stade de France.
Around 10,500 athletes from 206 NOCs will participate at the Paris Olympic Summer Games,
In football, Egypt, Morocco and Mali will represent Africa at Paris 2024, while Nigeria and Zambia will represent the continent at the Olympics women’s football tournament.
According to the organisers, the tickets are aimed primarily at families from disadvantaged neighbourhoods – those with the lowest family quotient, whose children don’t usually go on holiday and who are enrolled in summer leisure centres. These tickets are also a way of thanking Parisians who are actively involved in the community, such as young people doing their community service, members of the sports movement (including those from welcoming clubs), employees of the City of Paris and various committed actors such as the volunteers of Nuit de la Solidarité.
The lucky winners will be notified by email and will be able to choose three companions. Those who respond will receive access codes to connect to the Paris 2024 platform. Three waves of invitations will be sent out between June and July to avoid any cancellations.
The spectator capacity for the River Parade, which will mark the opening of the Games, has been set at 326,000, with 222,000 on the upper banks and 104,000 on the lower banks. Spectators will be divided into 15 dedicated zones on the upper banks, with each zone holding between 600 and 40,000 spectators. In total, an estimated 1.5 billion people around the world will be watching. On 26 July, one in five people around the world will have their eyes on Paris.
