Olympics opening ceremony on the Seine could be SCRAPPED, admits Emmanuel Macron… as ISIS terror threat to Champions League matches puts Paris on ‘plan B and C’ alert
French President Emmanuel Macron has admitted that Paris could be forced to scrap its ambitious plans for the opening ceremony in 2024 due to security concerns.
Organizers plan to hold an opening ceremony in the city center, marking the first time the spectacle will take place outside a stadium.
The plans would see the nearly 10,500 athletes travel on boats through the River Seine.
Athletes will complete a six-kilometer route on approximately 170 boats, passing by landmarks including Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre and Place de la Concorde.
The route ends close to the Eiffel Tower, with the Trocadero Gardens marking the finale of the ceremony.
Paris 2024 organizers could be forced to scrap plans for an opening ceremony in the city center
Emmanuel Macron has admitted that the ceremony could be scrapped if security risks are too great
Organizers have already almost halved the number of planned spectators to 326,000
Macron, in conversation with French media BFM TV and RMC emphasized that the security operation surrounding the event will be raised to an ‘exceptional level’.
However, the French president admitted that organizers could be forced to scrap their plans if the security risks prove too great.
‘This opening ceremony is a world first. We can do it and we will do it,” Macron said.
‘But if we think there are risks, depending on our analysis of the context, we have fallback scenarios
“There are plan Bs and plan Cs.
‘We are preparing them in parallel, we will do real-time analysis. We have a ceremony that would be limited to the Trocadéro and would therefore not cover the entire Seine.’
Macron confirmed that it would be an option to move the opening ceremony to the Stade de France, returning to a traditional ceremony.
When asked by a caller concerned about her son attending the ceremony, Marcon responded, “If there’s any place your son will be safe, it’s there. We screen all people who enter and leave.’
Macron acknowledged that moving the ceremony to the Stade de France is a possible alternative
The French president spoke with 100 days to go until the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris
Security was stepped up at last week’s Champions League matches after the tires were targeted by specific threats
The group threatened to kill fans in London, Paris and Madrid and inflamed tensions in a message from IS’s propaganda wing.
Macron’s comments come a week after an apparent threat from a regional affiliate of the Islamic State to Champions League matches across Europe.
Security was performed in Paris – Where Paris Saint-Germain hosted Barcelona in Parc des Princes – Madrid, for Real Madrid‘ clashes with Manchester cityand in the Emirates, where Arsenal played host Bayern Munich.
All three ties passed without incident, but French authorities went so far as to set up a BRI (Investigation and Intervention Brigade) with their elite counter-terrorism brigade after a report was shared by the Al-Azaim Foundation, a media outlet responsible for spreading messages from the terrorist group. ISIS-K branch of the terrorist group.
ISIS-K last month claimed responsibility for the deadly terror attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow.
The attack led the French government to raise its security alert to the highest level.
Reports last week claimed that German security officials believe the group could be targeting this summer’s European Championships.
Paris 2024 organizers last month almost halved the number of spectators allowed to attend the opening ceremony in the city center, from 600,000 to 326,000.
A total of On the lower banks of the Seine, 104,000 spectators will have tickets, while another 222,000 will watch for free from the upper bank.
The free tickets are available by invitation only and are not available to the public through open registration.
Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi had claimed the ceremony could be scaled back further, but appeared to suggest moving the event to a stadium would be unlikely.
Paris plans to hold the first opening ceremony of the Olympic Games outside a stadium
The Olympic Games start on July 26 in the French capital and last until August 11
“You can adapt to the level of risk,” Dubi said Sky News.
‘So depending on the nature of the threat, it can of course be further reduced if necessary.
‘It was about an underlying question, namely ‘can we return to another location, for example a stadium somewhere?’
‘You can’t plan a Plan B. It is far too big, too advanced and artistically complex to look for a Plan B in another location.
‘Plan B is to reduce, adapt, but it is that location.’
The opening ceremony will take place on July 26 and the competition will run until August 11. This will be followed by the Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8.