Assassin's Creed Tribute Stuns at 2024 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony in Paris

The opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics featured a thrilling tribute to Assassin's Creed, with a hooded torchbearer performing parkour across the rooftops of Paris. While Ubisoft hasn't officially confirmed the connection between the event and the Assassin's Creed franchise, the company has dropped multiple hints.

The first hint came just before the opening ceremony on July 26, when the official French-language Twitter account of Assassin's Creed posted, "in Paris, Arno is never far away." Initially, fans didn't think much of the tweet. However, the English-language Twitter account followed up by urging fans to "keep an eye on Paris' rooftops" because "Arno might just be watching from above," sparking speculation about Ubisoft's involvement in the ceremony.

The speculation proved accurate as the July 26 ceremony featured a hooded torchbearer resembling an Assassin's Creed protagonist. This figure first appeared as a boat rider, aiding three children in transporting the Olympic torch through the Canal Saint-Martin. The torchbearer then continued alone, parkouring across Parisian rooftops and running through the Louvre Museum. The official Twitter account of the Olympic Games shared several tweets about this event around 8:30 pm CET.

Although the torchbearer's appearance didn't exactly match that of Arno, the protagonist of Assassin's Creed Unity, who is the main character in the series' only entry set in France, the overall look was consistent with the franchise's aesthetic. The hooded attire with a white cloak was reminiscent of Ubisoft's games, except for the fencing mask used to conceal the torchbearer's identity.

Neither Ubisoft nor the 2024 Summer Olympics organizers have officially confirmed that this segment was an Assassin's Creed tribute. Nevertheless, many fans are convinced, expressing their thoughts on social media following the ceremony. Some viewers, however, suggest that the figure could also be a nod to The Phantom of the Opera, the famous 20th-century novel by French author Gaston Leroux, which has inspired numerous adaptations.

Another possibility is that this part of the opening ceremony drew inspiration from various works of French art, including literature and video games. Although Ubisoft is not an official sponsor of the Paris 2024 Olympics, it is a significant French company with close ties to the host city. An example of this connection is its 2022 VR game Save Notre-Dame on Fire, whose proceeds helped fund the reconstruction of the Notre-Dame Cathedral after the devastating fire in 2019.