Paris Olympics: Former Cardinal Newman running back makes his mark for the U.S. rugby team
Meteo-France, the French weather service, is forecasting overcast skies from midday onward, with light rain anticipated in the morning. The weather should improve in the afternoon, but the weather service warned Thursday that showers could hit the Paris region in the evening, when the ceremony takes place.
If it rains, the ceremony is expected to go on as planned. It starts at 1:30 p.m. EST/10:30 a.m. PST and should last more than three hours.
“For the moment, the risk of showers during the opening ceremony cannot be ruled out,” Meteo France said. “Forecasts have yet to be confirmed.”
There was some good news, though, with a balmy summer evening looming. Temperatures will be close to 22 degrees Celsius (71.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 10,500 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.
Members of police forces patrol on a boat along the Seine river next to a pannel depicting a pictorial detail ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, on July 23, 2024. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP) (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP via Getty Images)
People navigate on a boat along the Seine river next to a pannel depicting a pictorial detail ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, on July 23, 2024. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP) (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP via Getty Images)
View of the quays of the Seine river from the Invalides bridge a few days before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris, France, on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Laure Boyer / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by LAURE BOYER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)
Temporary platform with seats installed along the Seine quays at the Quai de Gesvres in Paris for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris, France on July 24, 2024. (Photo by Antoine Boureau / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ANTOINE BOUREAU/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 22: A member of the public rides his bike on a empty Voie Georges Pompidou avenue along the Seine River ahead of the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 22, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
Soldiers patrol on the Seine river, Wednesday, July 17, 2024 in Paris. France’s armed forces held a demonstration of the security measures planned on the River Seine, both in and out of the water, to make it safe for athletes and spectators during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Organizers have planned a parade of about 10,000 athletes through the heart of the French capital on boats on the Seine along a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) route at sunset on July 26. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games employees enjoy the view of the Seine river as they stand on the Alexandre III bridge with the Eiffel Tower in the background in Paris on July 22, 2024, ahead of the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP) (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)
Soldiers patrol on a footbridge over the Seine river ,Wednesday, July 17, 2024 in Paris. France’s armed forces held a demonstration of the security measures planned on the River Seine, both in and out of the water, to make it safe for athletes and spectators during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Organizers have planned a parade of about 10,000 athletes through the heart of the French capital on boats on the Seine along a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) route at sunset on July 26. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 21: Spectators view the Eiffel Tower and Olympic rings along the Seine river on July 21, 2024 in Paris, France. The city is gearing up to host the XXXIII Olympic Summer Games from July 26 to Augusst 11. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Victor, left, and his girlfriend, Florence, talk along the Seine River at dusk as the spire of the Notre Dame Cathedral rises in the background ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Members of police forces patrol on a boat along the Seine river next to a pannel depicting a pictorial detail ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, on July 23, 2024. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP) (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP via Getty Images)