With big goals and big bets, Paris wants to reset the Olympics with a bold Games and a stunning opening
PARIS — Paris has long been a city of dreamers: just look at the Eiffel Tower, which for decades was the tallest structure in the world. Audacity also underlies the French capital’s plans for its first Olympic Games in a centurywhich opens Friday with a opening ceremony for ages.
The largest and most elaborate Olympic opening of all time — a spectacular gala On Friday night, on the Seine, which even French President Emmanuel Macron said initially seemed like “a crazy and not very serious idea,” 16 days of competition begin that promise to be revolutionary, with almost every corner of the city hosting some aspect of the competition.
After two subdued, pandemic-hampered Olympics, expect a bold celebration. The heady marriage of sport and France world capital of fashion, gastronomy and culture could also help secure The Long-Term Future of the Olympic Games.
Olympic organizers were struggling to find suitable host cities for their flagship Summer Games when They settled in Paris in 2017seduced by his promise of innovations And the potential for the city of romance to rekindle love for the Olympics, especially among a younger audience who have so many other entertainment options.
But the challenges facing Paris are also enormous.
The city that was repeatedly hit by deadly extremist attacks must protect 10,500 athletes and millions of visitors. The international context of wars in Ukraine And Gaza add layers of complication to the gargantuan security effort. French elite special forces are part of the security detail of the Israeli delegation.
Yet if all goes well, Paris hopes to be remembered as a turning point before and after the Olympics.
The first Games with almost equal number of men and womenA breakthrough that has been long overdue since 22 women were first accepted as Olympians 124 years ago, also in Paris, will be another step toward aligning the Olympics with the post-#MeToo world.
Paris also hopes to reassure climate-conscious generations Z and beyond by organising less polluting Games, more sustainable and more socially virtuous than their predecessors. Many of these sports venues are temporary, as Paris did not want to repeat the mistake of previous Olympic host cities that built new arenas and then had to replace them. they are useless.
With the iconic monuments of Paris as a backdrop — Beach volleyball in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower — and break dance Added to a growing list of Olympic sports targeting younger audiences, expect plenty of viral moments on Instagram, TikTok and elsewhere.
Crowds will return for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic forced Tokyo to postpone its Games to 2021 and keep spectators away, as well as the Beijing Winter Games in 2022, while China was in lockdown.
Award-winning French director Thomas Jolly is transforming central Paris into an open-air stage for the opening ceremony, which will run until sunset and feature France, its people and its historyThe 330-meter (1,083-foot) Eiffel Tower will certainly occupy a prominent place.
Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying ticket holders and invited guests, are expected to line the banks of the Seine as the athletes parade along the river on boats.
During this lavish period, a no-fly zone extending 150 kilometers around the capital will close the skies of Paris, monitored by fighter planes and airspace surveillance. AWACS surveillance flights, surveillance drones, helicopters capable of carrying snipers and drone neutralization equipment.
Highlighting and celebrating Paris could be joyfully cathartic for the city that was plunged into mourning by the extremist attacks of 2015.
Speculation over who might have the honor of lighting the Olympic cauldron includes soccer icon Zinedine Zidane and other French sporting heroes, as well as survivors of the Islamic State group’s gunmen and suicide bombers who killed 130 people on Nov. 13, 2015.
Paris is also taking risks in the hope of leaving an indelible impression on the billions of viewers around the world who will watch the Olympics.
The decision not to hold the opening ceremony in the traditional setting of France’s largest stadium – the Stade de France, which was among the attackers targets and is now the venue for the Olympic athletics and rugby sevens events — and hosts skateboarding, archery and other sports in temporary arenas in the heart of Paris have made securing the Games more complex.
Human rights advocates and critics of the Games have raised concerns about the scope and scale of Olympic security measures, including the use of AI-powered surveillance technology.
The furthest place is on the other side of the world, the French Pacific territory of Tahitiwhere Olympic surfers will compete famous giant waves This first form in the storm belts off the coast of Antarctica.
Up to 45,000 police officers and gendarmes, plus 10,000 soldiersprotect Paris and its suburbs, which together host most of the 32 sports that will crown Olympic champions in 329 events. The gold, silver and bronze medals they will award are encrusted with a piece of polished hexagonal iron from the Eiffel Tower.
The banks and waterways of the Seine as well as more than a dozen bridges were closed nine days before the opening ceremony, creating a no-go zone for people who have not requested a pass in advance and manage to get in difficult for Parisians and visitors to get around and see the sights of the city of 2 million people. Owners of restaurants and other businesses inside the security fence complain about fewer customers.
Limiting new construction has saved money and, Paris organizers say, helped them meet their goal of halving the Games’ overall carbon footprint compared with London in 2012 and Rio in 2016. Among the new venues, an Olympic aquatic center in Seine Saint-Denis is expected to help the deprived suburb north of Paris teach more children to swim.
French organizers say the Games will leave a lasting legacy for Paris long after the Olympians and Paralympic athletes who follow from August 28 to September 8 left.
A expensive and complex cleaning The restoration of the Seine, long polluted, accelerated by the deadline of the Games, should allow the river to reopen to public swimming next year, after the Olympic swimming marathons and triathletes participated. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo took a bath this month to demonstrate that its waters are safe.
With an overall cost estimated at around 9 billion euros ($9.7 billion), more than half of which comes from sponsors, ticket sales and other non-public funding, Paris’s spending so far is lower than that of Tokyo, Rio and London.
Once the fireworks of the opening ceremony have become a memory, the City of Lights will then become the playground of the Olympians.
American gymnastics superstar Simon Biles is back. Born in France Basketball Phenomenon Victor Wembanyama will carry his hopes home with his 2.24-meter build. Ukrainian and Palestinian athletes have points they want to prove about the conflict, resilience And sacrifice which go beyond the realm of sport.
A few lucky ones will win medals. Many will regret not having gone higher, faster and stronger.
But together they will always have Paris.
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