The opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games begins on July 26 at 5:30 p.m. UT. An event at which 110 heads of state and government are expected. Among them, a dozen African heads of state. Details.
In Paris, the Olympic Games began on July 24, 2024, while waiting for the opening ceremony on the 26th. A highly anticipated event that will be attended by 110 heads of state and government from around the world. Among them, many African leaders.
Several have already arrived. Because some are participating this Thursday afternoon in a first event organized at the Carrousel du Louvre: the summit “Sport for sustainable development”. Ten heads of state from the African continent are due to take part, such as the Mauritanian Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, current president of the African Union, or the Rwandan Paul Kagame. This summit will be closed by the Senegalese Bassirou Diomaye Faye, while Dakar will host the Youth Olympic Games in 2026.
These African heads of state will then be invited to a gala event organized at the Louvre: the dinner of the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach.
A bilateral meeting with the Djiboutian Ismaël Omar Guelleh
On the sidelines of these two events, Emmanuel Macron is expected to meet with some of these African presidents, the French presidency announced without revealing the programme of these informal meetings.
Djiboutian Ismaïl Omar Guelleh was received by the French president on Wednesday. On this occasion, the two men renewed the ten-year defense partnership between the two countries.
All these leaders will attend the opening ceremony of Paris 2024 tomorrow, a global event watched by more than a billion viewers.
Cameroonian President Paul Biya and his wife Chantal have already arrived in Paris. They will attend the ceremony along with eleven other heads of state from the continent, such as Togolese Faure Gnassingbé, Central African Faustin-Archange Touadéra and Malagasy Andry Rajoelina.
Congolese Félix Tshisekedi and Ivorian Alassane Ouattara will, however, be absent. The two countries will be represented at another level. It is Prime Minister Robert Beugré Mambé who will be there for Côte d’Ivoire.
With rfi
2024-07-26 16:40:42