Magic of Kenya can dazzle at ‘biggest’ opening ceremony in Paris

Paris is a dream destination for millions of people in the world. People save for years in order to visit this great Parisian capital also known as the City of Love.

For centuries, Paris has been known as the city of light. This was after becoming the first town in Europe to use gas lighting to illuminate its streets. It is known for its rich history, arts, culture and fashion.

It is home to the famous Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame Cathedral and Louvre Museum where one can see the famous Mona Lisa. 

Among the great geographical land marks there is the Seine River. It divides Paris into two.

It is on the Seine River that the Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony will be held, the first ever in modern history to take place outside a stadium.

Athletes of the world will parade along a stretch of 6km of the river. There will be close to 116 Parisian and regional boats.

This is billed to be the biggest opening ceremony in the history of Olympics. It is estimated that over 1.5 billion people will watch the ceremony. A further estimate of 600,000 spectators will watch it from the various points of the parade.

The original and core objective of the Olympics is to bring countries of the world together in celebration. 

Kenya being part of this great world celebration participates with several objectives. Perhaps the most popular one is good performance translated to number of medals won. There is also objective of participation for events we are not strong and being competitive at that top stage.

However, it is time we also focused on presenting our rich culture and heritage at this global level. The opening ceremony and the closing ceremony give us our minute of fame. The way our athletes will step out and in what they will be wearing should simply communicate – Magical Kenya!

The Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports has opened doors for everyone to be part of this great opportunity. Kenyans have been invited to present designs of the ceremonial outfits. 

This is from the apparel, shoes and accessories. The process by itself gets millions of Kenyans to become part of this great story. We expect thousands of designs and the winning one will no doubt be able to reflect the Kenyan spirit.

The pride of having one’s creative design worn by Kenya’s greatest athletes is big. However, the Ministry in recognition of resources employed towards the process will give cash awards to the three top designs in each category.

There will be opening ceremony kit, closing ceremony and new addition of casual wear for Team Kenya. These are different from the actual sports wear which includes track suits as that is provided by Nike who have the rights to the design concepts.

The opening ceremonial kit will be a visual representation of our identity, culture and pride. The kit should symbolize our unity, pride and prowess in sports. The closing ceremony kit should reflect a celebration of collective achievement and our unique identity. It should merge into the coming together of all nations of the world as a great testimony of the great shared values beyond the competition field.

The casual wear should be trendy, functional outfit providing comfort in a distinct Kenyan flair. It should show a relaxed yet resolute Kenyan spirit. It should provide a sense of unity beyond a competitive environment.

The opening ceremony allows us to win in our own game, by our own rules and at our own time. We decide how we want to look. Let’s make it Magical Kenya at the Seine River!

Mutuku is the Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya. 

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