The Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony takes place today with a bold, original, and unique setting as it will be held outside a stadium for the first time in Olympic history.

Instead of the now traditional stadium setting, this ceremony will unfold along the Seine River, with boats carrying athletes from each national delegation in a parade that is set to wind through the heart of Paris, as it showcases the city as the overall playing field for these Games. It’s an exciting departure from tradition and is set to be a memorable moment in Olympic history.

The eye-catching ceremony will be taking place across a 6km route, beginning at Austerlitz bridge and ending among the gardens, fountains and palaces in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower at Trocadero. There will be almost 100 boats carrying more than 10,000 athletes, plus a host of dignitaries, which sail past Paris' iconic landmarks, including Notre Dame cathedral and Pont Neuf, before transporting the athletes in the parade but also be used in the artistic part of the ceremony, which will showcase the history and culture of Paris and France.

Thousands of people are still expected to line the river and streets with millions more watching on television around the world. "I’d like to show France in all its diversity," said Thomas Jolly, the French actor and theatre director named as the ceremony's artistic director.

"Illustrate the richness and plurality shaped by its history, which has been influenced and inspired by the diverse cultures that have passed through it, while itself serving as a source of inspiration," he said. The ceremony will also include the official opening of the Games, carried out by France president Emmanuel Macron, and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.

The ceremony begins at 19:30 local time today (Friday, 26 July) it is expected to last just under four hours, with the final stages taking place as the sun sets across the French capital.  Keeping with tradition, Greece will be the first nation introduced during the ceremony, with NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo one of their flagbearers for the Games.

Greece will then be followed by the Refugee Olympic Team, while hosts France being the last to be introduced.