There is only one place to be on Friday evening. At 17.45 BST, the broadcast of the opening ceremony of the Paris OlympicsA major international multi-sport event held every four years. will begin. More than 10,000 of the world's supreme athletes will float down the SeineFrance's third-longest river, extending 485 miles from Dijon to the English Channel. It is also a type of fishing net. in boats. It promises to be a spectacle that would stun even the Sun King.¹

It will be the first opening ceremony to be held outside a stadium. Paris 2024 can boast several firsts, including the introduction of breakdancing.

But the biggest first of all might be the most surprising. This is the only Olympics to feature an equal number of men and women competing. There will be 5,250 of each.

This would have horrified Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics. He said: "I do not approve of women in public competitions."² The last Paris Olympics, in 1924, included just 135 women and 2,954 men.

Coubertin's views reflect a long history. For centuries, most societies gave more rights to men than to women.

Change has been hard won. DemocraciesCountries which have a system of government based on the idea of rule by the people. gave men the vote before women. In Britain, women called suffragettesWomen's suffrage is the right for women to vote in local and national elections. The suffragettes fought for this right.  campaigned to gain the vote. Several were sent to prison for their activity.³ It took until 1918 for some women to be allowed to vote, and 1928 for them to have the same voting rights as men.⁴

Gender equality has made steady progress since. There are very few jobs unavailable to women.⁵ Women have led governments, run companies and directed films.⁶

Women's sport is gaining ground. Witness the huge support for England's Lionesses at the Euro 2022. Paris 2024, writes Moira Forbes in Forbes, "represents both an acknowledgment of progress and a benchmark for future advancements".

Yet some think the full picture is a lot more complex. Many countries have a gender pay gap. The average American woman, for example, earns 83% of an average American man's salary.

And there are many parts of the world where women's rights remain dreadful. Take voting. Women officially have the vote in every democracy bar one.⁷ But in practice they are often restricted. A sporting contest cannot change this.

Is this a turning point for gender equality?

Yes: The Olympics will be a symbolic turning point. But symbols are hugely important. Just seeing women take part in the same events as men might inspire the athletes and suffragettes of the future.

No: In much of the world women face restricted rights, limited roles, unequal pay and threats of violence. The Olympics is not a reflection of the world but a fantasy of what nations want to project.

Or... We will not be able to tell. True turning points are often only visible in retrospect, once the fanfare has died down and the effects have taken hold. It is a question to answer in 50 years.

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