500 days from Paris 2024, doubts go through security, transportation and the presence of Russian athletes

500 days before the

the race against time is intensified by the organizers.

Consolidating the

of an unprecedented opening ceremony, organizing the

of millions of spectators and the decision regarding the participation of Russian athletes in the war in Ukraine are some of the most important challenges that remain to be resolved.

For the first time in Olympic history, the opening ceremony will be held outside of a stadium.

It will be in the passage of the Seine River through Paris, with a parade of delegations by boat, sailing at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

Of the 600,000 lucky ones who follow the steps of the athletes, 100,000 will pay to settle in the part closest to the river, while the rest will be able to admire the spectacle from higher up for free.

Will it be necessary to resort to the Army because private security companies are not capable of recruiting personnel?

"Too early to respond," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.

"All the scenarios are on the table," added Etienne Thobois, general director of the Organizing Committee for the Games.

The

half-opened the door in January for a return of Russian and Belarusian athletes, under a neutral flag, a year after the start of the war in Ukraine.

Some 30 countries have asked the institution to "clarify" its position, because the start of the classification period in several disciplines is approaching.

The construction of the Olympic Village, in Saint-Ouen. Photo AFP.

A game of table tennis seems to begin: the IOC sends the ball to the international federations, which returns it to them, while the Organizing Committee also points to the supreme authority of Olympism.

Without the prospect of an end to the conflict, the question of the presence or absence of the Russians will be a constant in the debates for the next few months.

Will line 14 of the Parisian subway reach

, where the Olympic Village will be located, in 2024?

Transports and their security were placed under "extreme surveillance" by the French government, with former Prime Minister

as the new head of the autonomous region of Parisian transports (RATP).

Among the problems to be solved are the lack of bus drivers and the opening of this transport to competition in 2025, which can make the social climate difficult, within the framework of the political struggle between the government and the president of the Ile de France region. -which includes Paris-,

.

With the Games on the horizon, the RATP has planned to hire 6,600 people, 4,900 on temporary contracts.

This is how the Paris 2024 Aquatic Center is built. Photo AFP

The launch of the first phase of ticket sales became a puzzle for the organization.

The public sometimes found the ticket prices too high, showing their complaints on social networks.

The organization has defended itself by saying that the prices are not more expensive than in the

Games , a difficult comparison to establish due to inflation and the phases in which ticket sales are divided in Paris 2024.

"We have challenges that are difficult to reconcile: generating income while ensuring that it is a popular party," argued the president of the Organizing Committee, Tony Estanguet, on Thursday when he announced that 3,250,000

had been sold.

For the Olympic works delivery company (Solideo), in charge of the facilities that will remain after the Games, 2023 is the key year.

Work on the

will have to be completed in time for the Organizing Committee to receive the keys in the spring of 2024 and prepare the athletes' rooms.

The construction of the transport axis in Porte Maillot. Photo AFP

Built without air conditioning but with the guarantee of offering a difference of six degrees less with respect to the outside temperature in case of strong heat, the Olympic Village could have portable air conditioning devices.

The delegations have the possibility of taking them, an option that does not please the mayoress of Paris,

.

"They won't need it," she said.

The budget of the Organizing Committee (96% of private origin) increased by 10%, to 4,400 million euros (4,660 million dollars), at the end of 2022. The State and public authorities added 111 million euros, about 118 million Dollars.

If you add the money from Solideo (4,400 million euros, of which 1,711 are public money), the total budget reaches 8,800 million of that currency, about 9,360 million dollars.

The "inheritance", promised mainly to Seine-Saint-Denis, France's poorest department, is watched over by politicians in this region.

"Once the Olympic flame goes out, it will not be Anne Hidalgo,

and Tony Estanguet who will respond to the inhabitants, but me," warned the president of the department,

.

With information from AFP

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