How Thomas Jolly, Artistic Director of the Olympic Opening Ceremony, Captures the Essence of France

PARIS (AP) — In a luxury hotel room on the 16th floor, overlooking the heart of Paris and the iconic Seine River, Thomas Jolly is preparing for the grand spectacle that will kick off the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

“I was overwhelmed at first. I wondered how I could create a show where everyone could feel represented as part of this great union,” admits Jolly, the actor and director who was brought in two years ago to take artistic direction of the opening and closing ceremonies. “This responsibility was ambitious, complex, but great for an artist.”

More than a billion people are expected to attend the opening ceremony on July 26. But Jolly, 42, is no stranger to outrageous projects in France, with a production of a 24-hour Shakespeare tetralogy in 2022 and a revival of the fan-favorite musical “Starmania.” He has won three Molière awards, France’s highest theater prize.

Now it is his job to share France with the rest of the world in a parade expected to last nearly four hours.

“France is a story that never stops building, deconstructing and reconstructing. It’s alive, it keeps living,” Jolly explained passionately in an interview on Friday. This dynamic, he believes, fuels the country’s reputation for protests and strikes — manifestations of France’s constant rethinking of its identity and values.

Behind Jolly, there’s a flurry of activity, with construction workers toiling away at the sets for the upcoming ceremony on the banks of the Seine, closed off to the public. At one point, Tony Estanguet, the head of the Paris 2024 organizing committee who also gives interviews at the hotel, joins Jolly on the balcony, away from the media frenzy. Cigarette in hand, Jolly gestures animatedly toward the Seine as they discuss the final details, Estanguet nodding in agreement.

Last year, France hosted the Rugby World Cup. The opening ceremony, created by Oscar-winning actor Jean Dujardin, who played a beret-wearing baker in a 1950s version of France, was criticized for being stereotypical and outdated. While Jolly acknowledges the clichés, she is determined to play with and subvert them, believing that opening ceremonies often tell the story of a country.

“When we watch ‘Emily in Paris’ or ‘Amélie Poulain,’ we know it’s not quite the real Paris. We’re going to play with all those clichés, but we’re also going to challenge them,” said Jolly, who also directs the Paralympic ceremonies. “Paris is also a vibrant youth. Different cultures standing shoulder to shoulder in the streets.”

The opening ceremony will be attended by around 300,000 people, most of whom have been invited, with organizers planning to celebrate inclusion and diversity. The original plan was for a 100% free ceremony, with millions of people watching the parade from the banks of the river. Those ambitions were tempered by the French government, which feared security risks in a city that had suffered major extremist attacks as recently as 2015.

“There has never been an opening ceremony held outside a stadium. There is no model; it is an absolute creation,” Jolly said, acknowledging the challenges of such a feat. He envisioned a gigantic 12-act ballet with hundreds of dancers stationed on the many bridges spanning the Seine, while boats floated down the river carrying the Olympic athletes to the Eiffel Tower.

Jolly is extremely tight-lipped about what will actually happen at the ceremony. Rehearsals are being held in secret locations around France, but there will be no full rehearsal before the actual date. The mystery has led to much speculation, with some of the most daring theories suggesting the use of submarines in the Seine and performances by pop stars such as Celine Dion, Lady Gaga and French-Malian singer Aya Nakamura.

“I’ll be fired if I tell you anything,” Jolly says with a cheeky laugh. “All I can tell you is that it will be very significant for the artists who will be performing.”

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