Macron: Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony Could be Moved

The most highly anticipated Opening Ceremony in Olympic history has a backup plan to a more traditional setting, French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday.

The ceremony is scheduled to be 84 boats on the Seine along a 3.7-mile route toward the Eiffel Tower to open the 2024 Olympic Summer Games. In January, the number of spectators allowed to attend the ceremony was slashed from around 600,000 to around 320,000 and tourists were told they won’t be allowed to watch it for free from riverbanks.

Speaking to BFM-TV and RMC, Macron said “if we think there are risks, depending on our analysis of the context, we have fallback scenarios. There are plan Bs and plan Cs.”

Macron said in his New Year’s address that the Opening Ceremony extravaganza could be moved if France is hit in the run-up by extremist attacks. On Monday, he said organizers could shorten the itinerary of the parade on the Seine and even “repatriate the ceremony to the Stade de France” for a more conventional opening event.

In January, the number of spectators allowed to attend the ceremony was slashed from around 600,000 to around 320,000 and tourists were told they won’t be allowed to watch it for free from riverbanks.

Around 45,000 police officers are expected to be working the opening ceremony. France has asked 46 countries to help provide about 2,200 extra officers during the Games.

“France has never deployed so many means for security,” said Tony Estanguet, the head of the Paris Games’ organizing committee. “I have faith that the security services in our country will make the Games safe.”

Asked Monday about the opening ceremony as the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee began its pre-Games media event in New York City, USOPC Chief of Security Nicole Deal said she’s been working on Games security since the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake and “I’m very comfortable with what the French have in place for us at the Games.”

Macron insisted plans for the opening ceremony remain the same. Answering to a viewer who expressed concerns about her son attending the opening ceremony, he said “If there’s one place where your son will be safe, it’s here.”

Triathlon Water Quality Mooted

The Seine is not only in the news as the spot for the Opening Ceremony but as the home for open water swimming. Estanguet admitted recently that heavy rain raising E. coli levels was one of his “biggest challenges” with the Seine, adding there is no alternative location if Paris is hit with heavy rainfall.

Estanguet’s comments came one day after the Surfrider Foundation said testing at the Pont Alexandre III bridge between September and March levels of E. coli and enterococci bacteria above the recommended threshold.

USOPC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jonathan Finnoff said the Paris organizers and its medical team have kept other delegations updated on mitigation procedures in the Seine, including water quality testing programs throughout the river and upstream.

“We’re actually really confident that this is going to go great and that if it’s not looking good, they’re not going to make people swim,” Finnoff said. “It’s a concern for us but something we feel they’re putting measures into place to keep athletes safe.”

As for the athlete’s view, triathlete Morgan Pearson said Tuesday “there’s nothing I can do outside of just prepare … what’s the point of me worrying about it? There’re more important people figuring all that out. I’ll be ready no matter what.”

Olympic Flame Lit in Greece

The flame that is to burn at the Olympics was kindled Tuesday at the site of the ancient games in southern Greece.

Cloudy skies prevented the traditional lighting, when an actress dressed as an ancient Greek priestess uses the sun to ignite a torch after offering up a symbolic prayer to Apollo, the ancient Greek sun god. Instead, she used a backup flame that had been lit on the same spot Monday.

A relay of torchbearers will carry the flame more than 3,100 miles through Greece until the handover to Paris Games organizers in Athens on April 26.

More Tickets on Sale

The 100-day countdown Wednesday coincides with another 250,000 tickets for the Games going on sale. This will be the last ticket sale before the Games for all sports.

New tickets for team sports, including soccer matches, will go on sale in all price categories as well as tickets for all France and USA Basketball games in Lille. The sale will open to everyone on a first-come, first-served basis with a maximum of 30 tickets via each ticket account, including previous purchases.

Among the batches of new tickets available is 9,000 for equestrian events in the gardens of the Château de Versailles; 15,000 for swimming at the Paris La Défense Arena; 10,000 for artistic gymnastics at the Bercy Arena, including the final of the women’s all-around competition; 35,000 for beach volleyball at the Eiffel Tower Stadium and 12,000 for tennis at Roland-Garros.

Tickets are on sale via the official platform, with a sliding barometer allowing buyers to choose a price ranging from $26 to $2,900 — the highest price for watching the opening ceremony.

France Also Prepares for Winter Games

In the midst of all the celebrations about the 100-day countdown to the Summer Games, the IOC Future Host Commission will visit the proposed 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games venues in French Alps ski resorts and Nice, the upscale French Riviera coastal city.

The IOC said Monday the prospective 2030 organizers are in talks with the Netherlands and Italy to stage speed skating races. Nice does not have enough venues for all Olympic events on ice and the IOC now encourages hosts to avoid construction costs by finding cheaper solutions abroad.

“We have several candidates with whom the French team will discuss,” Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi said.

The French Alps bid is expected to be confirmed as the 2030 host at the IOC Session in Paris on the eve of the Summer Games. The 2034 Winter Games host also should be decided in Paris, with Salt Lake City as the preferred candidate.

The IOC also has urged Italian organizers of the 2026 Winter Games to use a bobsled track in neighboring Austria or Switzerland instead of renovating a venue in Cortina. Italian officials did take a cost-effective option for speed skating by choosing a temporary track at a conference center venue in Milan.