Six months before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, Thomas Jolly continues rehearsals and meetings. We accompanied him on a visit to Notre-Dame de Paris.
Will there be plans B or even C? The question is asked almost every week to the organizers of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. But just six months before the opening ceremony, plan A with a three-hour show over 6 km along the Seine continues to move forward.
Meetings and rehearsals are the daily life of director Thomas Jolly, artistic director of the Olympic opening ceremony. We accompanied him on a scouting trip along the Seine of course. Upon arrival on the Bridge of the Archbishopric, opposite Notre-Dame de Paris, the rain begins to fall. “We can organize everything and imagine everything but I have no power over the weatherjokes the director. But if it rains, summer storms are still quite beautiful, it could also be very cinematic…”
:quality(50)/2024/01/26/1000038031-65b3660df34d4654321008.jpg)
Thomas Jolly always remains optimistic. He made these docks his second home : “I have walked these bridges. I have also taken many boats. Obviously, I no longer look at the Seine as simply a river which crosses one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but rather as my setting.” This is also true for Notre-Dame which “will obviously be part of the party”continues Thomas Jolly : “We can’t reveal everything, but artistically, there are some pretty beautiful things happening here.”
Avoid French stereotypes
If the cathedral is still under construction, it is opened for Thomas Jolly by the director himself. “The arrow is there, but we can’t see it”, notes the director. It will be revealed in “March April”, the director tells him. “We have the opportunity to enter monuments that are not necessarily open to the publicsays the director. It’s a great opportunity, a real luxury. I think today I could almost even become a guide in Paris!”
:quality(50)/2024/01/26/000-34gt8w9-65b3594431cae560977995.jpg)
Notre-Dame de Paris and the great tourist classics are obviously essential to this unique opening ceremony on July 26. But we should not imagine a timeline punctuated by French stereotypes: “France is not this or that, explains the director. France is not just a type of gastronomy. France is not just a type of art. You can love both opera and rap. Everyone must feel represented that evening, because it’s like a photograph that we send to the whole world, of who we ultimately are.”
An artistic, almost philosophical concept, on which 250 are currently working people who have just completed the feasibility studies. “The Seine does not have the same depth depending on the location, the bridges do not have the same resistance, nor do the quays. And there is no question of disturbing the natural habitats of fish”, slips Thomas Jolly. Ultimately, 90% of the concept is feasible : “I still have 10% to rewrite and readjust so that it is anchored in reality.” Nothing to scare the professional who, six months before D-day, has only one fear: “It would be to be too exhausted not to enjoy that evening.“