Paris Olympics: Final rehearsals for opening ceremony

Dozens of boats on River Seine participated in a rehearsal on Monday (Jun. 17) with only 39 days to go until the Summer Olympics in Paris.

205 delegations will parade on more than 80 boats on the Seine. The ceremony will drift slowly from east to west, bridge to bridge, snaking six kilometers (3.7 miles) from Pont d’Austerlitz to Pont d’Iéna.

With sunset and moonlight gleaming on the river, the grandiose opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics will last nearly four hours.

In May, French President Emmanuel Macron struck a cautious note when he said the unprecedented open-air event, which is expected to bring 100 world leaders to the embankments, could be shifted to a more conventional opening ceremony at the Stade de France, the national stadium, if the security threat is deemed too high.

Despite security concerns Thierry Reboul, Executive Director for Ceremonies, confirmed that the authorities are still preparing for the exceptional open-air event and that there are no alternative ceremonies being prepared at this stage.

"As you can see here, there is the Seine and there are boats so it looks pretty much like Plan A. It is indeed the one we are working on and we are training for, as you can see today.", Reboul said.

Since the 2015 terror attacks, security perimeters are regularly implemented during major events.

As the ceremony takes place on the Seine, several bridges will be progressively closed to traffic.

There will be one final rehearsal before the opening ceremony of July 26th.