Paris spent years planning an opening ceremony unlike any other to kick off the 2024 Olympics, taking the parade of nations out of a stadium and putting it on the Seine River.
The decision to bring the tradition outside allows as many as 300,000 fans to watch the ceremony and lets organizers show off the heart of Paris as the city hosts the Summer Games.
The format has its drawbacks too. It requires a massive security operation to cover the miles-long stretch of river that will host the parade of nations, and it also opens up the ceremony to potential weather complications.
As the official start of the ceremony approaches, it’s becoming more likely that weather could have an impact on the festivities.
Here are the latest weather updates for the Olympics opening ceremony Friday.
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Olympics opening ceremony weather updates
Paris has a 100% chance of rain Friday night, according to The Weather Channel, with about a half-inch of rain expected to fall.
The rain isn’t expected to start until 6-7 p.m. local time. That would precede the start of the opening ceremony, which is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. ET). The chance of rain is higher than 95% at 8 p.m. local time, which will be just 30 minutes into the outdoor ceremony.
MORE: How Paris transformed Seine into opening ceremony spectacle
Temperatures are expected to hover near 70 degrees Fahrenheit at the start of the ceremony, which would make for a comfortable night if not for the rain.
How would rain impact the actual ceremony? Organizers knew bad weather was a possibility, but that doesn’t make dealing with it any easier. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo told CNN ahead of the ceremony that rain would create some challenges, explaining that dancers need surfaces to be dry.
“Many moments in this show need to be very safe for the dancer and without rain and without water,” she said.
At the time, Hidalgo remained hopeful that rain would hold off. “I think maybe, maybe we will be lucky tomorrow,” she said.
MORE: Complete order of countries in opening ceremony’s parade of nations
Thousands of Olympic athletes are expected to be welcomed into Paris on nearly 100 boats during Friday’s ceremony, but there is naturally some uncertainty surrounding the events because of how unique the ceremony has been set up.
Organizing and securing the opening ceremony was already a challenge, and rain appears set to give everyone in Paris one more test Friday night.
