Paris Ready for the Games, Says Organising Committee
(240721) -- PARIS, July 21, 2024 (Xinhua) -- Tony Estanguet (C), President of Paris 2024, speaks during a press conference at Paris 2024 Main Press Centre in Paris, France, July 21, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)
With the Olympic Games Paris 2024 set to kick off formally with the opening ceremony on Friday night in the French capital city, President of the Organising Committee, Tony Estanguet, announced yesterday that the city was “ready” for the Games as he played down complaints from some residents and businesses about the impact of the event.
“We are ready as we head into the final phase,” Estanguet told a press conference in Paris on Sunday, five days from the opening parade on Friday.
He added: “For as long as the closing ceremony hasn’t finished, we need to remain vigilant. But today we are exactly where we would have dreamed of being a few years ago.”
Finishing touches are being applied to the venues across the City of Light and thousands of athletes and officials are pouring in, while the weather has also brightened up after months of rain.
In a further boost for organisers, the water quality of the river Seine – which is set to be used for outdoor Olympic swimming events – has also improved dramatically since the start of July.
“All the indicators for the Seine are positive at this stage,” Estanguet added.
The river is set to host the opening ceremony next Friday which will see 6 000-7 000 athletes sail down it on 85 barges and boats.
It will be the first time a Summer Olympics has opened outside the main athletics stadium, with up to 300,000 ticketed spectators set to watch from stands and on the river banks and another 200,000 expected to watch from the overlooking apartments.
Around 4,000 tickets are still available, Estanguet said.
“We’ve always tried to maintain as high a level of ambition as possible so that these Games make France shine,” Estanguet added.
The vast security operation required for the opening ceremony is causing some friction, however, with large parts of central Paris along the banks of the river and around Olympic venues off-limits for most people.
Trade groups representing Paris shops, restaurants, bars and clubs complained on Friday that they were facing an “unprecedented slump in business and footfall”, blaming the “heavy security measures” in part.
“We were always a choice made in full conscience that the success of Paris 2024 would mean having the Games in the city,” Estanguet explained. “That was the completely unprecedented concept for Paris 2024.”
Around 45,000 members of the French security forces are set to be on duty on Friday evening when the Olympics kick off at 7:30 pm (1730 GMT).
“Security was the No. 1 priority for Paris 2024,” Estanguet stressed.
