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What Can We Expect From the Opening Ceremony Next Week? Artistic Director Thomas Jolly Gives Us a Few Hints

At the end of next week, approximately 300,000 spectators will gather to watch the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games on the banks of the Seine—while another 1.5 billion people tune in from home—a spectacle art-directed by Thomas Jolly. A few months ago, Vogue interviewed Jolly, an actor and theater director known in France for his spirited adaptations of Shakespeare, to discuss the nearly two years of his life devoted to this year’s Games.

As we approach the final countdown to Paris 2024, Jolly shares what we can expect on July 26—while also tipping his hat to a long list of collaborators. These include the Prix Goncourt-winning novelist Leïla Slimani, screenwriter Fanny Herrero (of Call My Agent! fame), historian Patrick Boucheron, and playwright Damien Gabriac, a close friend and collaborator of Jolly’s. Also central to the production are composer Victor Le Masne, choreographer Maud Le Pladec, stylist Daphné Burki, and production designers Emmanuelle Fabre and Bruno.

Below, Jolly discusses the various components of next Friday’s procession, the moment he is most looking forward to, and his two great wishes for people following along—wherever in the world they may be. This conversation has been translated from French.

Vogue: For the first time ever, the Olympics opening ceremony is leaving the stadium setting. [Athletes from each competing nation will process down the Seine on boats.] That’s a significant challenge, isn’t it?

Thomas Jolly: Especially since I have taken the liberty to disrupt the established order of the usual ceremony—namely with an artistic segment, a delegation segment, and a protocol segment—and I have decided to interweave them for an evening lasting three hours and 45 minutes, where countries from around the world alternate, parading in a dozen tableaux. Like athletes passing between the Pont d’Austerlitz and the Pont d’Iéna, this grand fresco draws its inspiration from all the historical sites they traverse. And what fabulous inspiration it is!

Which everyone can enjoy since you have chosen to start the ceremony at 7:30 p.m., local time…

Indeed, I am mindful of the ecological impact. Starting the ceremony at this time allows us to make the most of natural light, thus avoiding the use of electric energy for lighting. Moreover, the river is not affected by the artistic works. We studied the areas where the fish spawn to avoid disturbing their natural habitats. Nothing falls into the Seine. Everything is respectful of the environment in which we are set. It was decided to invest in the monuments, the bridges, the history, the facades, the quays… And these places are brought to life by around 3,000 artists from all disciplines: dance, circus, music, acrobatics, comedy… I call this ceremony la grande célébration de notre humanité partagée—the grand celebration of our shared humanity!


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