With two days to go until the Paris 2024 ceremony, the French capital is now the centre of the sporting world for two weeks of competition. After the disappointment of being passed over in favour of London in 2012, Paris is in the spotlight.
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” Gare de Lyon, competition site, Arena Bercy “, can be heard on the RER A. Immersed in their mobile phones, the passengers do not raise their heads. It must be said that this announcement has been audible for several weeks. But now, Paris 2024it’s concrete.
90% of the Olympic delegations have already arrived
Parisian transport is decked out in the colours of the Olympic Games and in the stations close to the Olympic sites, reception agents are present. Tourists who have come to attend this global event can also download various smartphone applications in order to obtain optimised routes to get to the venue of the events. In addition, 90% of the Olympic delegations have already arrived in Paris, the airport manager announced, during a visit on Wednesday 24 July by the Minister Delegate for Transport Patrice Vergriete to the teams responsible for welcoming athletes, officials and journalists at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport.
Two days before the opening ceremony, Paris is therefore a olympic city. The Place de la Concorde has been transformed into a temporary stadium, the Grande Halle de La Villette is hosting Club France and the Place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville has been converted into a huge festive terrace. The main press centre at Porte Maillot is teeming with journalists, each seeking their place with the volunteers.
Paris sky closed during opening ceremony
In the capital, thousands of police officers are mobilized. To reinforce the Île-de-France without depleting other regions in the middle of the holiday period, the Ministry of the Interior has taken restrictive measures. Holidays are prohibited during the Olympic Games and limited the rest of the summer to two weeks between June 15 and September 15. The attendance rate must not fall below 75%.
For the opening ceremony on Friday, July 26, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers will be there. To prevent a possible drone attack, the skies will be closed up to 150 kilometers around the French capital. As a result, traffic will be interrupted from 16:30 to 22:00 (UTC) at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle and Orly airports, as well as at Beauvais. Finally, for the first time, the elite units of the police and the gendarmerie will work together.
The Champ-de-Mars Arena « is not ready “, according to the International Judo Federation
But not everything seems rosy in the Olympic city. Indeed, according to the president of the International Judo Federation (IJF) Marius Vizer, the Arena Champ-de-Mars ” is not ready ” to host the Olympic judo competitions from July 27 to August 3. ” I come to Paris with great enthusiasm, we are ready from a sporting point of view, but unfortunately the site is not ready and we are suffering from it. “, declared Marius Vizer on Tuesday, July 23. The president of the IFJ did not want to ” go into details ” For ” not to upset the local organizers too much “, but he assures that everything ” the environment » of the Palais éphémère – the initial name of the building created in 2021 – is not yet ready to host the judo competitions. These are due to start on Saturday morning, with the -48 kg categories for women and -60 kg for men.
Marius Vizer regretted that judo not be organized at Bercy, where the Judo Grand Slam is full every year. It is the temple of judo. We know every nook and cranny of Bercy, I don’t understand why judo couldn’t stay there. ” he said. The Arena Bercy hosts gymnastics, trampoline and the final stages of the basketball tournament.