How the Olympics Opening Ceremony artistic director is capturing the essence of France

PARIS, France — In a luxurious hotel room on the 16th floor, overlooking the heart of Paris and the iconic Seine River, Thomas Jolly prepares for the grand spectacle that will inaugurate the Paris 2024 Olympics.

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

More than a billion people are expected to watch the July 26 Opening Ceremony. But Jolly, 42, is no stranger to outsized projects in France, producing a 24-hour-long Shakespearean tetralogy in 2022 and reviving the favorite musical “Starmania.” He has earned three Molière prizes, France’s highest theater award.

Now, he is tasked with sharing France with the rest of the world in a parade that’s expected to last nearly four hours.

“France is a story that never stops being constructed, deconstructed, and reconstructed. It’s alive, it remains alive,” Jolly passionately explained in an interview on Friday. This dynamism, he believes, fuels the country’s reputation for protests and strikes — manifestations of France's constant reexamination of its identity and values.

Behind Jolly, the scene is a hive of activity, with construction workers toiling on the settings for the upcoming ceremony on the riverbanks of the Seine, sealed to the public. At one point, Tony Estanguet, the head of the Paris 2024 organizing committee who is also giving interviews in the hotel, joins Jolly on the balcony, away from the media frenzy. Cigarette in hand, Jolly gestures animatedly towards the Seine as they discuss final details, Estanguet nodding in agreement.

Last year, France hosted the Rugby World Cup. The Opening Ceremony imagined by Oscar-winning actor Jean Dujardin, who portrayed a beret-wearing baker in a 1950s rendition of France, received criticism for being too stereotypical and outdated. While acknowledging the cliches, Jolly is determined to both play with and subvert these stereotypes, 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 cliches, but we’re also going to challenge them,” said Jolly, who is also directing the Paralympics ceremonies. “Paris is also a vibrant youth. Different cultures rubbing shoulders in the streets.”

The Opening Ceremony will be attended by approximately 300,000 people, most of whom have been invited, with the organizers intent on celebrating inclusion and diversity. The original plan was to have a 100% free ceremony, with millions watching the parade from the riverbanks. Those ambitions were dialed down by the French government, who feared security threats in a city that has had major extremist attacks as recently as 2015.

“An Opening Ceremony has never been held outside of a stadium. There is no model; it’s absolute creation,” Jolly said, acknowledging the challenges of such a feat. He envisioned a giant ballet in 12 acts with hundreds of dancers stationed on the many bridges that span the Seine, as boats floats down the river carrying the Olympic athletes to the Eiffel Tower.

Jolly is extremely tight-lipped about what will eventually transpire at the ceremony. Rehearsals are being held in secret locations scattered throughout France, but there will be no full rehearsal before the actual date. The mystery has prompted much speculation, with some of the most audacious theories positing 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 meaningful for the artists that will perform.”