Paris 2024 organisers had originally planned to stage the Opening Ceremony in front of 600,000 spectators but this figure looks set to be cut to 500,000 ©Paris 2024

French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra has revealed that she expects around 400,000 spectators to attend the Opening Ceremony of next year’s Olympics in Paris free of charge - 100,000 fewer than had previously been planned.

Oudéa-Castéra revealed the revised figure when questioned over the price of tickets by the Finance Commission at the French National Assembly.

Paris 2024 organisers had proposed to stage the Opening Ceremony in front of 600,000 spectators after revealing that the event would be held on the River Seine rather than in a stadium.

Under those plans, 500,000 seats on the high quays above the river from Pont d’Austerlitz to Pont d’Iéna would be free to the public, while the other 100,000 would be for ticket holders.

But the figure for free access looks set to be reduced as the French Government aims to finalise plans for the spectacle on the River Seine.

French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra has said that around 400,000 people will be able to attend the Opening Ceremony for free ©Getty Images
French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra has said that around 400,000 people will be able to attend the Opening Ceremony for free ©Getty Images

Tickets for the Opening Ceremony, scheduled to be held on July 26 next year, range from as low as €90 (£78/$97) to as high as €2,700 (£2,350/$2,900).

Criticism has been levelled at organisers over the high cost of tickets, but Oudéa-Castéra has defended the pricing structure.

"We will especially have hundreds of thousands of people who will attend this Opening Ceremony free of charge,” said Oudéa-Castéra in a report by Agence France-Presse.

"It is only on the lower platforms that tickets are paid for up to 100,000 people.

"For everything else, the gauge will be refined.

"It will be around 400,000, all of this will be confirmed in the very next few days."

A conference is due to be held next week to discuss the Opening Ceremony as the French Government aims to finalise plans ©Paris 2024
A conference is due to be held next week to discuss the Opening Ceremony as the French Government aims to finalise plans ©Paris 2024

According to French newspaper Le Monde, a conference is due to be held on Tuesday (May 23) to discuss the Opening Ceremony which is due to feature an unprecedented Parade of Nations as delegations take boats down the River Seine.

Oudéa-Castéra and French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin have organised the meeting.

The 600,000 figure has been the subject of much debate, regarding how to ensure the safety of spectators.

Valérie Pécresse, President of Île-de-France, has previously called for an upper limit of 500,000 after arguing that transport capacity would be "insufficient" to cope with 600,000.

The Opening Ceremony is to be directed by Thomas Jolly and is set to see a flotilla of boats carry athletes along the six-kilometre stretch.