Olympics-Riverboat captain can't wait for Paris 2024 opening ceremony

FILE PHOTO: The Olympic rings are seen in front of the Hotel de Ville City Hall in Paris, France, March 14, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - Khalid Driouech can't wait - the 60-year-old Seine riverboat captain is one of 94 set to transport the 10,500 Olympic athletes down the river during the opening ceremony for the Paris 2024 Games on the evening of July 26.

A working captain on the river since 2010, Driouech heard a couple of months ago that he would be taking part in the six-kilometre floating parade from the Pont d'Austerlitz to the Pont d'Iena, before the finale at the Trocadero.