The grand opening ceremony happening on July 26, Friday, along the Seine River presented an unusual security challenge. Organizers are hoping that these security measures won’t detract from the festive atmosphere as Paris finalizes preparations for the Summer Olympics.
For the first time, the opening ceremony for the Games will not take place in a stadium. Thousands of athletes and entertainers will be transported by dozens of boats in a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) floating procession down the Seine, exhibiting the history and splendor of the French city.
The president of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, Tony Estanguet, said: “There’s a balance to be found between top security, which is absolutely the priority… It’s part of the objective to guarantee the security and to propose a fantastic celebration of the Games… But to have this kind of unique celebration, you also need to have a very, very strong security plan. And that’s the case.”
What to expect at the opening ceremony
More than 300,000 viewers, including members of France’s elite special intervention forces with counterterrorism training, are expected to line both banks of the river to witness the ceremony, which will also be attended by 45,000 police officers. An anti-drone system will be installed along with sharpshooters stationed atop buildings along the route.
France is already at its highest degree of security due to the wars in Gaza and the Ukraine as well as domestic security issues. The environment of the last Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021, when the competition was staged in empty venues and a year later than planned because of the COVID-19 epidemic, was very different from the Paris Olympics expected to be attended by masses.
Source: CNA