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05 Sept 2025
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05 Sept 2025
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Photo: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
For the first time in Olympic history, the opening ceremony will not take place in a stadium, but along a six-kilometre route cruising the Seine.
More than 6,500 athletes in 85 boats will sail past the iconic monuments of Paris including the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, and Notre Dame Cathedral.
More than 300,000 people are expected to watch the opening ceremony live, including 222,000 on the upper banks of the Seine and 104,000 on the lower piers. In addition, 80 giant screens will be set up around the city, with more than a billion people expected to watch at home.
What time is the opening ceremony?
The opening ceremony gets underway at 6.30pm Irish time
How long will it last?
About four hours in total - with the aquatic parade lasting about two and a half hours
Where can I watch it?
RTÉ’s coverage of the ceremony gets underway at 6pm Irish time and will be live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
Who will be there for Team Ireland?
Team Ireland will be represented by approximately 20 athletes plus some of the support staff. Limerick athlete Sarah Lavin and Offaly golfer Shane Lowry were both unveiled as the Team Ireland Flagbearers for tonight’s ceremony.
Taekwondo athlete Jack Wooley, Donegal badminton player Rachael Darragh, showjumpers Daniel Coyle and Shane Sweetnan, and sailors Finn Lynch and Eve McMahon, alongside Chef de Mission for the Games Gavin Noble.
Further Team Ireland athletes from Canoe Slalom, Boxing and Diving will also be on board with members of the support staff for the once-off spectacle on the Seine.
What is the aquatic parade?
The aquatic parade will involve 205 delegations travelling on 85 boats and is expected to last two and a half hours culminating in a final show at the Trocadéro. Team Ireland is sharing boat number 28 with the team from Iraq.
And after the aquatic parade?
Once disembarked, the athletes and officials will be immediately transferred to the Trocadéro where the final part of the opening ceremony takes place, including the lighting of the Olympic flame which marks the official opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
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