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.
Quick Read
- Paris Olympic Games Opening Ceremony Plans: French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the grand opening ceremony for the Olympic Games planned in Paris, to be held on the River Seine.
- Security Concerns and Alternative Plans: Macron acknowledged the possibility of relocating the ceremony if France faces extremist attacks, referencing the 2015 Paris attacks as an example.
- Unique Ceremony Setup: The ceremony will feature athletes parading on boats along the Seine, departing from traditional stadium settings, with extensive security measures involving thousands of police and soldiers.
- Spectator Arrangements: Hundreds of thousands of spectators are expected to line both banks of the river, with multiple security cordons in place.
- Macron’s Vision for the Ceremony: The French President hopes the ceremony will be a moment of pride and beauty, celebrating sport and French values.
- Contingency Plans: While currently focused on the Seine ceremony, organizers have developed alternate plans (plan Bs, Cs, etc.) to adapt to potential security threats.
- Artistic Direction: Prize-winning French theater director Thomas Jolly is responsible for the artistic content of the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony at the Stade de France.
- Organizers’ Commitment to Plan A: Chief Paris Games organizer Tony Estanguet emphasized that the Seine ceremony is the primary project being worked on, with no current plans to shift to alternatives.
The Associated Press has the story:
Macron: A security crisis could force rethink of Paris’ huge Olympic opening show
Newslooks- LE PECQ, France (AP)
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.
“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.”
