the rehearsal of the opening ceremony planned for Monday is postponed due to the high flow of the Seine

Nearly a month before the start of the Games, the rehearsal for the opening ceremony which was to be held on Monday with the entire fleet of boats was postponed due to the high flow of the Seine, AFP learned from the prefecture of the Ile-de-France region, Friday June 21.

A rehearsal was held successfully on Monday, but the one scheduled for June 24 was the third to be postponed due to heavy rain. The flow of the river on Friday was around five times higher than in the classic summer period, which would not allow “draw the most relevant lessons”judged the prefecture and the Paris-2024 organizing committee.

Furthermore, the Seine remains too polluted to host events. Suspense remains over the holding of the triathlon and marathon swimming events, scheduled from July 30. “At one point or another, the weather will change, it will stop raining and we will have sunshine. (…) It is in summer conditions that we must be able to examine swimmability”according to regional prefect Marc Guillaume.