The event – beginning at 19:30 local time (18:30 BST) this Friday (26 July) – will take place on Paris' River Seine and last just under four hours.
Professor Claire Warden, a Professor of Performance and Physical Culture in º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ's School of Design and Creative Arts, discusses the importance of Olympic opening ceremonies and her hopes for this year’s event.
“I'm really interested in the pre-Olympic ceremony because it is often incredibly theatrical”, said Professor Warden.
“I'm really interested in the narratives and storytelling that exist within the ceremony and how it sets up this amazing sporting event. It also celebrates the culture of a particular place in a particular moment.
“So, in 2012 at the London Olympics, you may remember Kenneth Branagh giving this wonderful storytelling moment or indeed that poignant celebration of the NHS where they brought all the steel beds onto the stage.
“Paris is an amazingly artistic city, so I would imagine they're going to be celebrating some of that incredible art history and maybe there will be themes of love in there as well.”
Professor Warden predicts the current political landscape will influence the opening ceremony.
She said: “I think the interconnection of politics and Olympic opening ceremonies is very interesting.
“You don't have to look too far back to the 1930s to see how the opening ceremony was used as propaganda for a fascist regime when it was held in Germany.
“I think the opening ceremony will be political this year. But my hope is that the politics will be extremely positive, bringing people together.
“We know that we exist in a time of political upheaval, of war, of some horrible, terrible things going on across the globe.
“I would hope that the opening ceremony this year is a time for reflection, to really think about how we might make the world a better place collectively.
“And I realise that sounds very utopian, but I think the opening ceremony could provide a sense of what the world could be together as a global community, which for me is a very exciting.”
