CHENNAI: As the world gears up for the Paris 2024 Olympics, the opening ceremony will kick off in a historic setting at the Seine River at 11:00 IST on Friday.

The 33rd edition of the Summer Olympics will take place in Paris from July 26 to August 11.

A total of 10,500 athletes across 206 countries will compete in the Paris Olympics, of which 117 are from the Indian contingent.

For the first time, the opening ceremony will not take place in a stadium.

Instead, athletes will arrive via boat and cruise down the Seine, passing by historic Paris landmarks, including the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral and the Louvre.

Meanwhile, singers Lady Gaga and Céline Dion are rumored to be among the performers.

Veteran table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal will be India’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony, along with double Olympic medalist PV Sindhu as the co-flag bearer.

The Indian athletes will look to surpass the previous medal tally record of one gold, two silver and four bronze in Tokyo four years ago.

The opening ceremony will feature will have 78 athletes and officials from 12 sports disciplines. "IOA President PT Usha and Chef-de-Mission Gagan Narang have given top priority to athletes in the composition of the contingent in the Athletes’ Parade." the IOA said.

Sajjad Sehen, a 28-year-old first-time Olympian, tested positive for metandienone and boldenone in a sample taken in Paris, said the International Testing Agency on Friday.

U.S. rapper Snoop Dogg was one of the final torchbearers of the Olympic flame hours before the Games' opening ceremony.

"It is indeed a proud moment. I have been eagerly awaiting the team announcement, and when I received the news, I felt really happy. Now, I have to focus on working hard and aiming for a medal," Prithviraj told DT Next.

Read more: Tamil Nadu 'gunman' Tondaiman set for Olympics debut

Flag-bearers: PV Sindhu (badminton) and Achanta Sharath Kamal (table tennis).

Archery: Deepika Kumari and Tarundeep Rai.

Boxing: Lovlina Borgohain

Table Tennis: Manika Batra

Tennis: Rohan Bopanna, Sumit Nagal and Sriram Balaji.

Shooting: Anjum Moudgil, Sift Kaur Samra, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Anish.

Equestrian: Anush Agarwalla

Golf: Shubhankar Sharma

Hockey: Krishan Pathak, Nilakanta Sharma and Jugraj Singh

Judo: Tulika Mann

Sailing: Vishnu Saravanan and Nethra Kumanan

Swimming: Srihari Nataraj and Dhinidhi Desinghu.

The American pop star Lady Gaga rehearsed near Austerlitz Bridge 

“The win at Beirut was extremely important; it raised a lot of confidence in me that I can take on the top players. I felt that I was back at my best. It's also crucial that the win came at the right time, just a few months ahead of the Olympics. That confidence can help me bring out my best in Paris,” said Sathiyan speaking to DT Next. 

Read More: Sathiyan eyes better outing with team in Paris after missing mixed-double quota

Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024 Games said that the world has finally come to see Paris and we will give them Paris straight away in the opening ceremony. 

With less then two hours to go for the grand opening ceremony to kick off, the gates are open and spectators are slowly taking their seats on their respective bridges put across River Seine. 

British Singer Cynthia Erivo and multiple Grammy and Billboard Music Awards winner Ariana Grande at the opening ceremony 

“Our preparations for the upcoming months are progressing well. We are focusing heavily on fitness and conditioning, as well as analysing and refining our technical and tactical aspects of play,” said Harmanpreet Singh in an interview with DT Next from the camp in Bhubaneshwar.

Read more: Next stop down under; Destination summit at Paris

It’s almost time for 85 boats to take to the Seine for the most unique Opening Ceremony in the history of the Olympic Games!

France President Emmanuel Macron and President of IOC Thomas Bach in the opening ceremony 

All the live performances in the opening ceremony had 200 days of rehearsal for the grand event. 

The six kilometer parade began from Austerlitz bridge and 85 boats carried more than 6800 athletes from 205 nations and one Refugee Olympic team, with a good number of them skipping the incredible show due to their competitions on Saturday.

A volunteer points to a counter in Paris, France, at the start of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics

80 artists from the Moulin Rouge perform the iconic dance that dates back to the 1820s. Their pink costumes have been specifically designed for the opening ceremony

Lady Gaga during the opening ceremony 

The organisers have claimed that the ceremony will be the biggest in Games history with more than 300,000 people watching on the banks of the Seine and billions tuned in on television.

Heavy rain lashes Paris as spectators forced to take shelter, but no one is leaving the venue

Indian athletes take the stage led by PV Sindhu and Sharath Kamal in the Parade of Nations. 

Olympe de Gouges, Alice Milliat, Gisèle Halimi, Simone de Beauvoir, Paulette Nardal, Jeanne Barret, Louise Michel, Christine de Pizan, Alice Guy and Simone Veil.

Paris 2024 will be the first gender-equal Olympic Games in history