The Head of State returned to the many challenges to come on Tuesday at the headquarters of the prefecture of Paris and Île-de-France.
“Five hundred days to succeed.” The countdown to the 2024 Olympic Games was started by Emmanuel Macron, Tuesday March 14, at the headquarters of the prefecture of Paris and Île-de-France, in front of 500 officials involved in the organization of the Games. The President of the Republic called for the “general mobilization” facing the great challenges in view of the biggest sporting event in the world. Security of the opening ceremony, fears around transport which have accumulated malfunctions in recent months, better access to sites for people with disabilities, another black spot of the Parisian network… There is no shortage of cold sweats for the organizers .
“We have to manage long time, prepare for an event where there will (also) be very short time, where there may be crises, warned the Head of State, accompanied by the Ministers of Sports, the Interior and Transport. We won’t be perfect for these Games, let’s be clear (…). We know that it is impossible given the urban transport network that is ours.” Emmanuel Macron added duty “put a little pressure” on the services concerned, referring, without further details, to “bad news that was not necessarily plannedon the mobility side.
The Seine at the center of all attention
Tony Estanguet, head of the organizing committee, and Thomas Jolly, artistic director of the Games, met at the Elysée to take stock of the opening ceremony. For the first time in Olympic history, the parade will not take place in a stadium, but on the water, with the Seine as the common thread. On July 26, 2024 at 8:24 p.m., 10,500 athletes will descend the river by boat for six kilometers, under the eyes of nearly 600,000 spectators, according to the current gauge. An unprecedented security challenge. “We learned all the lessons from the events at the Stade de France”assured the Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra on France Inter, Sunday February 19, in reference to the problems which arose during the final of the Champions League in May 2022 in Saint-Denis, at the gates of the capital.
Beyond hosting the opening ceremony, the Seine, which has been prohibited for swimming since 1923, will serve as the setting for the open water swimming events. A “little revolution”welcomed Emmanuel Macron, also welcoming the “great legacy” what will the “5,000 new sports fields”.
Make the Games a “real popular celebration”
The President of the Republic insisted on the fact of “continue to involve the inhabitants of the region”so that the Games are a “real popular festival” and that there is “no feeling of frustration, of relegation”. After a first phase of ticket sales marked by prices deemed excessive, the organizers will launch, Wednesday, March 15, a second period of sale by unit and no longer in packs. A total of 1.5 million tickets will be offered from May 11, including for the opening ceremony (from 90 euros to 2,700 euros).