A plan B, or even a plan C to adapt, if necessary, to the context. But a place which will remain the same: the Seine. Invited on Wednesday January 10 by France Inter, Tony Estanguet, the president of the Organizing Committee for the Paris 2024 Games, assured that the opening ceremony of the Games, scheduled for July 26, “will stand on the Seine”whatever happens.
“Today, with Thomas Joly, the artistic director of the ceremonies, we are working on an opening ceremony on the Seine. The teams do not work at another location »said Tony Estanguet.
The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, declared on December 20, 2023 that“There are obviously plans B, plans C, etc. » for the organization of the opening ceremony, specifying that they would be activated “in the event of a potential threat” : “If you have a series of attacks” as in November 2015, in this case, “of course, you don’t organize on the Seine”, he had clarified.
Read also: Paris 2024: Mr. Macron raises the option of an opening ceremony outside the Seine, the organizers say they will adapt in the event of exceptional scenarios
“If we ever find ourselves in an extreme scenario, with repeated terrorist attacks on our soil, obviously we need to have an alternative. The French expect it from us,” also explained the Minister of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, Sunday January 7 at the microphone of RTL. “Yes, we will have to have an alternative to the Seineshe added. We have different scenarios that are being studied. »
Different “ adjustment variables »
Asked whether it was not planned that the opening ceremony could take place in another location – such as a gymnasium – Tony Estanguet, for his part, responded « non ». ” Exactly “he also answered the question “Will it be on the Seine? ».
“The head of state has [eu] reason to remind you, there is a whole series of adaptation measures” which are planned, “depending on a security risk, but also a meteorological risk, or technological incident, cyberattacks”, he listed.
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Sunday January 7, on RTL, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra spoke about different “adjustment variables” considered for the opening ceremony to take the context into account. She thus cited the number of spectators who will be authorized to attend free of charge on the high quays of the Seine: “A decision will be made [sur le sujet] in spring “she recalled, while from the 500,000 people initially envisaged, we are now at 300,000 at most.
Read also: Paris 2024 opening ceremony: the public authorities are leaning towards around 300,000 spectators with free access
The minister also discussed the scale and timetable for the application of security perimeters, the nature of the festivities which will be authorized in Paris alongside the ceremony itself, and the artistic content of the ceremony. “Very important meetings will be held on these subjects in the coming days”warned Ms. Oudéa-Castéra.
Our selection of articles on the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games
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Olympic projects arrive on time
Bernard Thibault : “For the 2024 Games, our objective is to demonstrate that major events are not incompatible with high social rights”
For surfing in Tahiti, “it is the IOC and the Organizing Committee who have the last word”
The preparation of French athletes
Antoine Dupont takes his first steps with the French rugby sevens team
The new legal and Olympic freedom of Kylian Mbappé
Paris 2024: Dorian Coninx wants “get rid of the pressure linked to the status of triathlon world champion”
Paris 2024: the French wheelchair basketball team is not guaranteed to be at the Paralympic Games
The French Football Federation takes the initiative to convince clubs to release their players for the Olympic Games
The question of the presence of Russian and Belarusian athletes
The decision to allow Russians into the Games is “consistent and consistent with international law”according to Amélie Oudéa-Castéra
Football and the Paralympic Games, two ticketing challenges
The Organizing Committee draws from its reserve to keep the Games budget in balance
The Olympic Torch Relay
Some municipalities are irritated by the requirements and costs linked to hosting the torch relay
The societal issues that the Games highlight
At the time of sport, a major national cause, the worrying situation of swimming pools in France
School sport is still looking for the right formula
The government steps on the accelerator to close the accessibility gap
Hoteliers are raising their prices, controls will intensify
Seine-Saint-Denis and the Games
Paris 2024 : “At the beginning, we were proud; now we have seen behind the scenes”
Ongoing legal investigations
Winter Games 2030 and 2034: a Paris 2024 framework targeted by a complaint
Environmental issues
The difficult challenge of the “green” Olympic Games
Cultural places worried and in need of information seven months before the Olympic Games
Film shootings will be banned in the capital for the first time for three months
Parisian barge owners looking forward to summer 2024 and the Games
The Games are not just Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis
Communities seeking a share of the “Olympics effect” with Games preparation centers
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