Olympics opening ceremony by the numbers: How many athletes, countries, boats and more on the Seine River?

The opening ceremony at the 2024 Paris Olympics will be unlike any other, if only for one simple reason.

This is the first time in Olympic history that the ceremony won't be taking place inside an Olympic stadium. Instead, the ceremony will travel through the heart of Paris with the Seine River at the center of the festivities.

Fans are expected to line the Seine and watch athletes from each participating country travel through the city. Because of the unique setup, more fans than ever will be able to watch the ceremony.

Here's a look at the Olympics opening ceremony in Paris by the numbers, from athletes and countries to boats and security personnel.

MORE OPENING CEREMONY: Order of countries | Inside the route | Who will light the torch?

Olympics opening ceremony, by the numbers

Gone (for now) are the days of Olympic athletes walking around the floor of an arena in front of cheering fans. In Paris, they won't have to walk at all, as they will instead float through the city on boats with hundreds of thousands of fans lining the Seine River.

Roughly 94 boats are expected to travel through Paris carrying Olympic athletes. The full parade figures to have even more boats, with fireworks and other festivities in store around the parade of athletes.

The full ceremony will span 3.7 miles, or six kilometers, down the Seine River. As many as 300,000 fans are expected to line the river and watch the ceremony, a massive increase from the number of fans that would be able to watch in a traditional indoor venue.

As many as 75,000 police officers, security personnel, and military members will ensure that the ceremony can be carried out safely. While the festivities have a chance to be among the most unique in Olympic history, taking the ceremony out of an indoor venue makes it much more difficult to secure the vicinity.

As of April, Paris was looking for 22,000 private security forces in addition to the 35,000 police officers and 18,000 military members expected to be on hand to ensure everyone's safety.

The opening ceremony will kick off the 33rd Summer Olympics and third Summer Olympics hosted by Paris.

MORE: Event schedule for Paris Olympics

How many countries are in the Olympics?

There will be 206 countries represented at the Olympics in Paris. Each of the International Olympic Committee's 206 member nations is sending an athlete to the Summer Games.

How many athletes are in the Olympics?

About 10,500 athletes from around the world are heading to the Olympics, with the majority participating in the opening ceremony.

While 10,500 sounds like a large number, just 0.0001 percent of the world population has earned the right to compete at the Olympics this year. That's one in every 757,143 people. There will be what seems like an endless stream of athletes parading through Paris, but it's still a remarkably exclusive honor for =every individual competing in the games. 

Order of countries in the Olympics opening ceremony

Here's the complete order for the parade of nations: