Paris is preparing for the biggest and most spectacular opening ceremony in Olympic history, with authorities also taking unprecedented security measures in response to the terrorist threat.
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On Friday, July 26, as part of the opening of the Olympic Games, 205 teams will sail 96 ships six kilometers along the River Seine through the city center to the Eiffel Tower.
For the police, the Olympic Games are an organisational nightmare. Tens of thousands of police and soldiers from all over the country have been deployed to ensure the safety of sporting events in 30 different locations across France.
However, experts doubt how effective it is to protect athletes, fans and guests.
In the newspaper Welt am Sonntag, security consultant Alain Bauer criticises the ambitious plans for the opening ceremony on the water.
When you climb Everest for the first time in your life, you don’t need to put 40 kilograms on everyone just to prove that you can do it, says Bauer.
The participation of teams from the US and Israel has long been in doubt, with both countries reportedly wanting to send flag bearers and small delegations. The Israeli team includes 88 athletes and, according to BILD, a maximum of 20 people are planning to board the ship on Friday.
Even Germany could send 471 athletes, but the ship only has 250 seats, which will not be fully occupied.
The big problem with the opening ceremony is logistics. The original plans to accommodate half a million spectators along the route were abandoned long ago; now there should be 100,000.
The riverbank already resembles a high-security block: divers are working, armed special forces patrol on boats. Anti-terrorist units even practiced preventing the taking of hostages by one of the large river vessels.
The biggest danger: Islamist attacks, like the one in November 2015, when terrorists struck simultaneously in five locations in the city, including during an international match between France and Germany. That killed 130 people.
Drones are a new threat. There are early warning systems and equipment to create obstacles to protect against aerial attacks. All Paris airports will be closed for the opening ceremony, and a no-fly zone will be in place for 150 kilometers. In addition, the secret service has checked all residents of buildings along the river, but there are still hundreds of apartments rented to tourists.
Police officers check ID at every intersection, and crossing the bridge over the Seine has also become a difficult task. A city resident told BILD:
We have to register and can only access our area with a QR code.
But despite the strict security measures around the Seine, the BILD reporter managed to take a swim in the river.
In a few days, athletes from all over the world will hit the water in Paris: triathletes and open water swimmers will compete for gold in the Seine River. There are many competitions along the river, including beach volleyball, BMX, breakdancing, basketball.
For a long time, the river was considered the sewer of Paris – entire districts dumped wastewater into it. Swimming was officially banned here in 1923, the fine is 15 euros. The authorities of the capital of France spent 1.4 billion euros to clean the river.
A BILD reporter writes about his experience of swimming in the Seine:
Nice, very nice! 21 degrees, almost no current, no smell. Paris has invested more than a billion euros to prevent sewage from flowing into the river when the sewer system is overloaded. But I still wouldn’t want to take a sip [цієї води].
Earlier, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo swam in the Seine in a wetsuit to confirm the water was safe for the competition.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.