The spectacle, which is scheduled for 18:30 (local time) and will last approximately four hours, will take place in the heart of the city along its main artery, the River Seine. Many of the details that will be part of this event have been kept under wraps, so expect a host of surprises. Here are five things to look out for during the ceremony.

1. A boat ride on the Seine

It will be the first time in history that the Opening Ceremony will not take place inside a stadium. The Olympic teams will parade in boats along the Seine River, watched by an estimated 300,000 spectators in a display led by Thomas Jolly, the event's artistic director.

The fleet will carry more than 10,000 athletes along a 6km river route whose waters have been undergoing months of painstaking clean-up. Organisers expect the spectacle to run smoothly, amid a massive security operation involving tens of thousands of police. Earlier this year, French President Emmanuel Macron admitted that a plan B had been drawn up in case of insurmountable obstacles.

2. The mythical City of Light

The boats will cross some of the Parisian capital's most iconic bridges and landmarks along the way. Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower will be obligatory stops before reaching Trocadéro. It will all come to an end when the sun sets over the west of the city, at which point Paris will once again boast of being the City of Lights. The President of the Games, Tony Estanguet, has promised that the timing will make the spectacle ‘more sublime, with a truly poetic dimension’.

3. Broadcasting from the core

Organisers have installed cameras in each boat to broadcast live, and from close proximity, the athletes as they take part in the parade. It is not yet known how this audio-visual deployment will fit on the boats, bearing in mind that there are sporting delegations of varying sizes. The United States, for example, will send around 600 competitors, while some smaller nations are represented by just one competitor each.

Dozens of boats will be used on the course with the collaboration of numerous local companies specialising in this type of craft. The focus will be on the athletes carrying their team's flag.

4. Around the music

Jolly has selected 3,000 artists, including musicians and 400 dancers, although the names of the celebrities involved have so far been kept secret. It is rumoured that French-Malian R&B star Aya Nakamura could be present at the musical performances, as she is the most listened-to French-speaking artist in the world.

There has also been speculation about Céline Dion. The Canadian star was spotted in the French capital earlier this week, so it is rumoured that she could sing at the ceremony. Nothing has been confirmed, but it would be a performance that would mark Dion's return to the stage after she announced in 2022 that she suffers from a neurological syndrome called Stiff Person Syndrome. Lady Gaga has also been spotted in Paris, so her presence at the show is also not ruled out.

5. The mystery of the torch

The Olympic torch travelled to the French capital from Greece in a huge relay that began more than three months ago. As a curiosity, it is worth noting that along the way it was transported for some stretches in the world's longest rowing boat, the 24-seater Stampfli Express.

As for who gets the honour of lighting the Olympic cauldron, tradition dictates that the identity of the final torchbearer is kept secret until it is revealed on television. This task has fallen in previous years to the likes of Muhammad Ali (Atlanta 1996) and Aboriginal runner Cathy Freeman (Sydney 2000), to name but a couple of examples. Perhaps this year's edition will see former French footballer Thierry Henry or judo star Romane Dicko falling out of the limelight.