Olympics 2024 Opening Ceremony Seemingly Paid Tribute to Assassin's Creed (2024)

The opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics appears to have included a wild Assassin's Creed tribute in the form of a hooded torchbearer parkouring across Parisian rooftops. While Ubisoft hasn't officially confirmed the connection between the latest edition of the quadrennial sports event and Assassin's Creed, it has repeatedly hinted at it.

The company first did so just ahead of the opening ceremony on July 26, when the official French-language Twitter account of the Assassin's Creed franchise posted that "in Paris, Arno is never far away." While fans initially didn't think much of this tweet, the English-language Twitter account immediately followed up on that message by asking them to "keep an eye on Paris' rooftops" today because "Arno might just be watching from above." This prompted some online speculation about whether Ubisoft will indeed partake in the upcoming festivities.

2024 Summer Olympics' Final Torchbearer Looked Like an Assassin's Creed Protagonist

Sure enough, the July 26 ceremony did include an apparent nod to the popular franchise, as its final torchbearer was a hooded figure who looked like an Assassin's Creed protagonist. The mysterious individual first appeared as a boat rider, helping three kids transport the Olympic torch through the Canal Saint-Martin. They then carried the torch alone while parkouring across Parisian rooftops and running through the famous Louvre Museum. The official Twitter account of the Olympic Games dedicated several tweets to this feat as it was happening circa 8:30pm CET.

While the mysterious figure's appearance didn't exactly match that of Assassin's Creed Unity protagonist Arno, who stars in the only series entry that primarily takes place in France, it was very much in line with the overall Assassin aesthetic established by the hit franchise. Their hooded attire with a white cloak hence wouldn't look out of place in Ubisoft's games, save for the fencing mask that the torchbearer used to hide their identity.

Neither Ubisoft nor the 2024 Summer Olympics organizers have officially confirmed that this wild set piece was meant to be an Assassin's Creed tribute. Nevertheless, many fans of the franchise appear to be convinced that was the case, having said as much on social media following the ceremony. But not everyone agrees with that theory, with some Olympics 2024 viewers opining that the figure could have just as well been a nod to The Phantom of the Opera, a famous 20th-century novel by French author Gaston Leroux, which inspired numerous adaptations.

A third possibility is that this part of the opening ceremony was based on multiple works of French art, ranging from literature to video games. Although Ubisoft is not officially a sponsor of the Paris 2024 Olympics, it is a major French company that has close ties to the event's host city. One recent testament to that connection is its 2022 VR game Save Notre-Dame on Fire, whose proceeds were partially used to fund the reconstruction of the eponymous cathedral after it was ravaged by a devastating structural fire in 2019.

Assassin's Creed

Assassin's Creed is an action-adventure stealth series published and developed by Ubisoft and its various first party studios. Originally releasing in 2007, the series has seen 12 mainline releases with the recent games moving to a more open-world RPG style. Each game typically showcases major historical moments like the Italian Renaissance, Crusades, or French Revolution, focusing mostly on a long standing conflict between the free-minded Assassins against the order loving Knights Templar.

Video Game(s)

Assassin's Creed , Assassin's Creed 2 , Assassin's Creed 3 , Assassin's Creed 4 , Assassin's Creed Unity , Assassin's Creed Rogue , Assassin's Creed Origins , Assassin's Creed Odyssey , Assassin's Creed Valhalla , Assassin's Creed Mirage

Creation Year

2007

Developer(s)

Ubisoft

Publisher(s)

Ubisoft