Saturday, September 21, 2024
HomeSportsSecurity crisis could force Olympics to rethink Paris’ huge opening ceremony on...

Security crisis could force Olympics to rethink Paris’ huge opening ceremony on the River Seine

Published on

spot_img



LE PECQ, France — The giant opening ceremony extravaganza that Paris is planning to hold on the River Seine to launch the Olympic Games could be moved if France is hit again in the run-up by extremist attacks, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

Macron’s comments in a television interview on Wednesday night were a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into the deep layers of planning for the July 26 ceremony. Many details about the show remain shrouded in secrecy to preserve its hoped-for wow factor. The security, with tens of thousands of police and soldiers deployed, will be intense.

The athletes will be paraded through the heart of the French capital on boats on the Seine — for the first Summer Games opening ceremony held outside of a usual stadium setting. Both banks of the river will be lined by hundreds of thousands of spectators, behind multiple security cordons.

“We are preparing an opening ceremony that is unique, which I hope will make the French very proud,” Macron told public broadcaster France 5. “It will be a moment of beauty, of real art, of celebrating sport and our values, with the Seine and the capital as the theater.”

But he said plans could be revisited for security reasons. He cited deadly extremist attacks that hit Paris in 2015 as an example of the type of severe crisis that could force a rethink.

“You’re 15 days from the Olympic Games. You have a series of terrorist attacks. What do you do? Well you don’t organize (a ceremony) on the Seine,” Macron said.

See also  Girls’ basketball Top 20: National tournaments test area’s best, shake ranks

“Since we are professional, there are obviously plan Bs, plan Cs, et cetera.

“You have to be prepared for everything,” he added. “If there’s a surge of international or regional tensions, if there is a series of attacks … that’s a plan B.”

But for the moment, Paris Games organizers say the ceremony along the Seine is their plan A. Prize-winning French theater director Thomas Jolly is overseeing its artistic content and the closing ceremony at the Stade de France on Aug. 11.

Speaking at an end-of-year news conference on Wednesday, before Macron’s subsequent TV interview, chief Paris Games organizer Tony Estanguet said the Seine ceremony is “the only project that we are working on.”



Source link

Latest articles

‘Ridiculously outstanding’ defense pushes Cathedral Catholic to shutout win over Helix – San Diego Union-Tribune

Losing at home is never a good feeling.Last year, No. 2 Cathedral Catholic...

Kevin de León faces challenger Ysabel Jurado in L.A. City Council election

Professor Fernando Guerra at Loyola Marymount University said both de Leon and Jurado...

Iris Law stuns as she slips into a slinky blue patterned three-piece for the Versace party after wowing on the runway amid Milan Fashion...

She had earlier stormed the runway alongside Gigi Hadid and Vittoria Ceretti.And Iris Law...

14 Ways to Use Grapes in Salad, Starters, Mains, and More

Once you're equipped with our guide to grape varieties and have made...

More like this

‘Ridiculously outstanding’ defense pushes Cathedral Catholic to shutout win over Helix – San Diego Union-Tribune

Losing at home is never a good feeling.Last year, No. 2 Cathedral Catholic...

Kevin de León faces challenger Ysabel Jurado in L.A. City Council election

Professor Fernando Guerra at Loyola Marymount University said both de Leon and Jurado...

Iris Law stuns as she slips into a slinky blue patterned three-piece for the Versace party after wowing on the runway amid Milan Fashion...

She had earlier stormed the runway alongside Gigi Hadid and Vittoria Ceretti.And Iris Law...