Will play a prominent role at the opening ceremony on Friday evening: the Eiffel Tower on the banks of the Seine
Image: Keystone
Unique opportunity: grandstands along the river will allow many more people to be present than usual in a stadium
Image: Keystone
Not all Parisians were enthusiastic about the restrictions of the last few days
Image: Keystone
Final preparations were made along the banks of the Seine on Thursday
Image: Keystone
Nino Schurter will be the Swiss flag bearer for the first time at his fifth Olympic Games
Image: Keystone
The second Swiss flag bearer Nina Christen travels to Paris from the shooting center in Châteauroux
Image: Keystone
Will play a prominent role at the opening ceremony on Friday evening: the Eiffel Tower on the banks of the Seine
Image: Keystone
Unique opportunity: grandstands along the river will allow many more people to be present than usual in a stadium
Image: Keystone
Not all Parisians were enthusiastic about the restrictions of the last few days
Image: Keystone
Final preparations were made along the banks of the Seine on Thursday
Image: Keystone
Nino Schurter will be the Swiss flag bearer for the first time at his fifth Olympic Games
Image: Keystone
The second Swiss flag bearer Nina Christen travels to Paris from the shooting center in Châteauroux
Image: Keystone
The Olympics will experience a superlative opening ceremony on Friday evening. For the first time, it will take place on boats. The Swiss delegation will be led by Nino Schurter and Nina Christen.
26.07.2024, 04:31
26.07.2024, 10:22
SDA
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- The 2024 Olympic Games will open in Paris on Friday.
- The ceremony will not take place in the stadium, as is usually the case, but against the picturesque backdrop of the city directly on the Seine.
- Nino Schurter and Nina Christen will carry the flag for Switzerland. Viola Amherd will be there live as a guest.
Nino Schurter has already experienced almost everything at the Olympic Games. Gold, silver, bronze, a 4th place - and now, for the first time in Paris, he will also be carrying the flag. "This is of course a huge honor," says the 38-year-old from Graubünden. Previously, he had never been considered as a flag bearer because the mountain bike races always took place at the end of the Games and he only arrived later. Now he didn't have to think twice before agreeing. His competition is next Monday, so there will be enough time to recover after the always long opening ceremony.
For Nina Christen, agreeing to be the flag bearer means a three-hour journey to and from Châteauroux, where the shooters hold their competitions. "Being able to carry the Swiss flag at the opening ceremony makes me extremely proud and I'm really looking forward to this moment," said the 30-year-old from Nidwalden. "The role as flag bearer is an honor for me and at the same time for the 130,000 shooters in Switzerland."
Energy for the competition
Christen won gold in the 50m three-position match and bronze in the air rifle in Tokyo in 2021. In Paris, she will compete in her first competition, the 10-meter air rifle qualification, on Sunday. She will spend the night in the Olympic village after the opening ceremony and travel back to Châteauroux on Saturday. Ralph Stöckli, the head of the Swiss delegation who made the decision, said on Thursday that they had of course looked at the situation carefully with Christen and her entourage. "But she herself is also convinced that such an experience will give her energy for her competition."
Stöckli explains his choice with Christen's role as an "outstanding representative of a sport that has developed from amateur sport to professional sport". And the Chef de Mission says of Nino Schurter: "The way he has remained at the top of the world for years is unique. He shapes his sport like no other and has experienced the whole spectrum during his Olympic participations. Now, in Paris, he will finally have the opportunity to take part in the opening ceremony." However, they had not yet practiced, Schurter assured with a grin.
Unique parade of boats
The experience will be all the more special as Paris has planned a unique parade of nations in a bold and therefore risky move. Shortly before the opening ceremony, there was much speculation about the ceremony and the program is one of the best-kept secrets. It is the first time that an Olympic opening ceremony will not take place in a stadium.
Will acrobats perform gymnastics on the scaffolding of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris? Will a submarine rise from the Seine? "Why should we build backdrops when we have the most beautiful ones in the world?" said director Thomas Jolly, who designed the almost four-hour opening ceremony. Several thousand athletes are to sail down the Seine on almost a hundred boats, from the Austerlitz Bridge in the east of the city past Notre-Dame and the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower.
With Viola Amherd
According to the organizers, the opening ceremony should not be "a macho and heroic spectacle", but rather a humorous take on French clichés and a celebration of multiculturalism. "Diversity exists. The approximately 325,000 spectators are spread out along the banks and on the bridges. One third have paid dearly for their seats, two thirds of the spectators have been invited. As usual, dozens of heads of state and government will be in attendance, including the President of the Swiss Confederation, Viola Amherd.
Logistically, the whole thing is a Herculean task, which also means major restrictions for residents and visitors to the center of Paris. 40,000 security personnel on land, in and under water are to prevent incidents. Ralph Stöckli nevertheless believes it will succeed. "The idea alone is enough to give me chicken skin," says the former top curler. "It will certainly be something unique."
