Paris prepares for unique opening ceremony ahead of 2024 Olympic Games

Paris will begin its Olympics extravaganza with an unprecedented opening ceremony on the river Seine on 26 July.

Here is what you need to know about the ceremony.

WHAT WILL WE SEE?

Organisers have promised a show like no other.

Unlike for previous Olympics, the Paris 2024 opening ceremony will not take place in a stadium.

Instead, dozens of boats will carry thousands of athletes and performers on a 6km route along the Seine.

Departing from the Austerlitz bridge, the parade will sail by Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral and arrive near the Eiffel Tower, after passing under bridges and gateways, including the Pont des Arts and Pont Neuf, and near many of the French capital's landmarks.

Organisers have said they will take advantage of the historic monuments, the riverbanks, the sky and water "and there won't be a single riverbank or bridge that won't be filled with music, dance, or performance." The show will have 12 parts, some of which will play on clichés about France.

Athletes and artists will take part in the parade together.

"Everything will be woven together, including the protocol (the speeches, the opening by the head of state, the anthems, etc.)," organisers Thomas Jolly et Damien Gabriac told Le Monde newspaper.

The ceremony is due to start at 5.30pm Irish time and last about four hours. Organisers said it would reach a climax at around 9.35 pm when the sun sets.

WHO WILL BE THERE?

The show will be attended by over 100 heads of state and government and over 300,000 spectators will watch from the river's banks, organisers said, adding that there will be some 80 giant screens along the way.

The Paris 2024 committee said there would be about 10,500 athletes and some 222,000 people will get free invites, while 104,000 will have