An artist’s impression of what the Paris Olympics opening ceremony might look like. (IOC)
The Indian Olympic Association has revealed the names of those from the Indian contingent that shall be taking part in the grand opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Friday.
While PV Sindhu and Sharath Kamal had already been confirmed as the flag-bearers of Team India previously, a total of 78 athletes and officials from 12 disciplines shall represent Team India in a never-seen-before parade that will take witness athletes being carried on boats in the river Seine.
“Indian Olympic Association President Dr. PT Usha and Chef-de-Mission Gagan Narang have given top priority to athletes in the composition of the contingent in the Athletes’ Parade,” read an IOA statement.
Among the top athletes who shall take part in the opening ceremony are:
The IOA also stated that the reason behind a lot of the athletes not taking part in Friday’s opening ceremony is the fact that they have events scheduled for Saturday.
The national body also confirmed that a significant number of athletes from the Indian contingent (Athletics, Weightlifting and Wrestling) teams are yet to reach Paris.
The 2024 Paris Olympics are scheduled to take place from July 26 to August 11, 2024.
About the opening ceremony
For the first time in their history, the Olympics Games will not kick off in a stadium but instead on a river. A larger-than-life opening ceremony at Paris 2024 will see an armada of boats carry over 200 delegations of athletes along a stretch of the river Seine through the city, as thousands watch from either side of the waterway. An ambitious move, which in the words of Tony Estanguet – head of the organizing committee – will see the entire city turned into a vast Olympic stadium.
The boats carrying athletes will depart from the Pont d’Austerlitz bridge, which gets its name from the Battle of Austerlitz during the Napoleonic Wars. The flotilla will cover a six-kilometer stretch over the Seine – crossing 18 bridges and several landmarks across the City of Lights in the sunset hours – before making its way to Pont d’Léna, which is a stone’s throw away from the Eiffel Tower. Per several reports, including from French daily Le Monde, somewhere between 80-100 boats are expected to parade a contingent of athletes representing 206 different National Olympic Committees.
