The French government announced that it had to reduce the number of people who could attend the opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games of the modern era, which will be held in Paris from July 26, 2024.
For security and organizational reasons, the number of spectators at the ceremony was reduced by half from the last number of 600,000 spectators.
Now only 300,000 fans with tickets will be allowed to witness the ceremony that opens the biggest sporting event in the world, when the organizers' initial demand was for 1.2 million spectators.
The traditional opening parade of the Games will take place for the first time outside the main athletics stadium, in boats on the Seine River.
Currently discussing or considering an alternative scenario. The complexity of securing an event along six kilometers of river through the center of a city the size of Paris took a toll on the initial ambitions.
"I know that we have the best security forces in the world and that we will be able to show not only that we can win medals at the games, but also that we can host the world without any problems," said Gérald Darmanin, the French interior minister.
Simulation of the ceremony in Paris, photo: AFP
The artistic director in charge of the ceremony, young theater director Thomas Jolly, admitted that contingency plans had been made in case of a direct terrorist threat or bad weather.
"We have many different plans, but the location of the ceremony will remain on the Seine," he said.
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That reduced number of 300,000 people would still be an opening ceremony attendance record.
By comparison, the last Olympic Games with a crowd, held in Rio in 2016, had 80,000 people in the iconic Marcana Stadium.
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