PARIS, France — Will weather wreak havoc with the grandiose opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics on the Seine River?
According to the latest weather forecasts, there is a chance of rain Friday.
Meteo-France, the French weather service, is forecasting overcast skies from midday onward, with light rain anticipated in the morning. The weather should improve in the afternoon, but the weather service warned Thursday that showers could hit the Paris region in the evening, when the cermony takes place.
If it rains, the ceremony is expected to go on as planned. It starts at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.
“For the moment, the risk of showers during the opening ceremony cannot be ruled out,” Meteo France said. “Forecasts have yet to be confirmed.”
There was some good news, though, with a balmy summer evening looming. Temperatures will be close to 22 degrees Celsius (71.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 10,500 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.
The ceremony aims to be one of the most audacious openings to a Games ever, and is meant to highlight the city of Paris to both athletes and the millions of people watching around the globe.
France has designed the 16 days of competition to mainly take place in the heart of the country's capital city, making them more public and visible to the world.
