Paris taps French stage director Jolly for Olympic opening

PARIS (AP) — Paris Olympic organizers have appointed prize-winning French stage director Thomas Jolly to direct the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2024 Games and the Paralympics. The 40-year-old Jolly will be tasked with bringing to life Paris’ ambitious plan to hold the opening ceremony in the French capital’s city center. Organizers hope to have 600,000 spectators at the ceremony along the Seine River. Organizers also say the central Paris square where King Louis XVI and others were executed during the French Revolution is being considered for the Paralympic opening ceremony. Jolly will also direct that and closing ceremonies at the Stade de France.