The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on July 26, 2024 will take place on the River Seine, organizers announced on Monday, breaking the long-held Summer Games tradition of a stadium procession of athletes and officials.

More than 160 boats filled with athletes and officials from more than 200 countries will sail almost 6 kilometers between the Pont d'Austerlitz and Pont d'Iena bridges in central Paris, with the closing ceremony scheduled to be held at the Trocadero, an expanse of gardens and fountains which overlooks the Eiffel Tower.

"Today is a stand-out moment," said Tony Estanguet, a three-time Olympic canoe C1 gold medalist who heads up the Paris 2024 organizing committee. "There are a lot of emotions, a lot of enthusiasm. The opening ceremony is by far the biggest of markers."

Paris 2024 organizers are expecting crowds of 600,000 people for what they call the largest-ever Olympic ceremony.

Part of the public will be dispersed along the banks of the Seine in ticketed stands while the rest are able to take part for free.

French President Emmanuel Macron rubber-stamped the idea of having the ceremony on the Seine in July despite some concerns over how to best ensure security for such a massive event that passes by many well-known parts of Paris' iconic cityscape.

Security officials had asked for a limit of 25,000 people, while organizers and the Paris city hall had initially argued for two million, according to a mayoral source.

Prime Minister Jean Castex oversaw an inter-ministerial committee meeting last month, during which he asked Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin to make some "suggestions" over security for Olympics sites, notably the opening ceremony.

Castex said he wanted proposals "by the end of the year for the opening ceremony and June 2022 at the latest for all sites and events."

"The interior ministry and the whole of government backed this ceremony," Estanguet said, adding police would be aided by private security along the 12 km of accessible riverbanks.