Paris prepares to host its first Olympic Games in 100 years

Olympic Phryge, the mascot of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Olympic Phryge – inspired by a floppy hat worn as a symbol of freedom during the French Revolution – is the official mascot of the Paris Olympic Games. [Getty Images]

“Wide Open Games” is the motto of this year’s Paris Olympics, which officially begin on Friday with the opening ceremony.

It is the first time in 100 years that the French capital has hosted the Summer Games, with the majority of events taking place in or around the city’s most iconic districts.

Friday’s opening ceremony will see boats carry athletes and dignitaries along 6km of the Seine, with room for 300,000 spectators.

Few details are known about the event – although speculation has circulated about a possible performance by Celine Dion and Lady Gaga – with the ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, saying he wants to “show France in all its diversity”.

The Paris Games are the first to achieve gender parity among athletes, with 5,250 male and 5,250 female athletes competing.

With millions expected to attend the Games, Paris is putting the finishing touches to a Games it hopes will be unlike any other.

Paris ‘ready’ after water and security problems

French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this week that the country was “ready and we will be ready throughout the Games.”

Some Parisians have nevertheless used social media to raise awareness of problems such as overcrowding, price inflation and the difficulty of getting around the city.

A massive security operation was put in place, with up to 5,000 police, soldiers and security personnel on patrol at any given time. The Seine, the river that runs through the centre of Paris, was fenced off for the opening ceremony, requiring residents to use QR codes to access certain areas.

This has affected local businesses along the Seine, drawing some criticism, but French authorities say the barricades will be removed after Friday’s event.

The cost of this year’s Games is expected to be around €9bn (£7.6bn), with the organising committee promising to make them the greenest Olympics in history.

Supporters' Park at the Hôtel de Ville in ParisSupporters' Park at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris

Paris City Hall to host fan park during Games [Getty Images]

Only two arenas are new and specially built: an aquatic center and an arena for badminton and rhythmic gymnastics.

Other iconic venues such as the Stade de France – the national stadium – and the Roland Garros tennis stadium will host events, alongside historic sites such as the Grand Palais and Place de la Concorde.

One of the major concerns during the preparations was the water quality of the Seine, which will host the swimming leg of the triathlon and the open water events.

Swimming in the river has been banned for a century due to water quality, with tests in June still showing E.coli levels above the upper limits imposed by sports federations.

However, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the river on July 17 in an attempt to prove the water was safe.

Water will be tested regularly in different areas before events.

New events and familiar faces ready to compete

There is only one new event at this year’s Games: breaking, a dance style that originated in the Bronx in New York.

Some events have been changed, including men now being eligible for the artistic synchronized swimming competition for the first time in Olympic history, although none have been selected for Paris.

The Games will also be the last Olympics for some of Britain’s top athletes.

Double tennis gold medallist Andy Murray will end his career in Paris, as will Britain’s most decorated gymnast, Max Whitlock.

Three-time Olympic swimming gold medallist Adam Peaty returns to the Games after taking a break for mental health reasons.

On the track, Katarina Johnson-Thompson will be looking to avenge her heartbreak at Tokyo 2021, when a calf injury in the 200m forced her to withdraw from the heptathlon.

But dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin will not be there, having withdrawn after footage emerged of her “excessively” whipping a horse.

Elsewhere, Simone Biles, the world’s most decorated gymnast, returns after her struggles in Tokyo, while Stephen Curry is present in basketball.

Fellow Americans Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles will be looking to shine on the track, while Jamaica’s iconic Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will be looking to cap her career with another medal.

Athletes send ‘resounding message of peace’

Russia and its ally Belarus are banned from sending athletes to the Games because of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The 36 Russian and 24 Belarusian athletes in Paris will compete as individual neutral athletes (INAs), meaning there will be no national anthems or flags on display.

Candidates had to meet strict criteria set by the International Olympic Committee, such as not actively supporting the war, and then pass a security check by their national federation and the IOC.

The decision to allow Russian and Belarusian nationals to compete was criticised by some, but IOC President Thomas Bach defended the decision.

Athletes gathered at the Olympic Village earlier this week with Bach, wearing scarves with the message “give peace a chance.”

“You, the Olympic athletes, are the ambassadors of peace of our time,” Bach said.

“You will fight fiercely against each other. At the same time, you live peacefully together under the same roof, here, in the Olympic Village.

“You respect the same rules and above all you respect each other.

“In this way, you are sending a resounding message of peace to the world from Paris.”

An opening ceremony “like no other”

The ambitious opening ceremony in Paris will be the first time a Summer Olympics will begin outside the main athletics stadium.

It is expected to last just under four hours and will also include the official opening of the Games, chaired by President Macron, and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.

The union representing hundreds of dancers taking part in the ceremony had threatened to strike over pay, but French media reported it was called off after a new offer.

The opening ceremony will begin at 19:30 CET (18:30 BST) on Friday 26 July.

It will be broadcast live on BBC One (from 5.45pm BST), BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

Radio coverage will be broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds from 19:00 BST, with live text coverage on the BBC Sport website and app.

Rower Helen Glover and diver Tom Daley will be the flag bearers for Team GB. Other notable choices include tennis player Coco Gauff and basketball legend LeBron James for the USA, and boxer Cindy Ngamba and taekwondo athlete Yahya Al-Ghotany for the refugee team.

Although Friday marks the official opening of the Games, some sports have already started, such as men’s rugby sevens and men’s and women’s football.

Men’s football got off to a chaotic start as Morocco’s 2-1 win over Argentina took almost four hours to materialise after play was suspended due to crowd disturbances.

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