“We are ready,” say Paris Olympics organizers

Paris Olympics president Tony Estanguet said Sunday the city was “ready” for the Games, playing down complaints from some residents and businesses about the impact of the event.

“We are ready as we approach the final phase,” Estanguet said at a press conference in Paris, five days before the opening parade next Friday.

“Until the closing ceremony is over, we have to remain vigilant. But today, we are exactly where we would have dreamed of being a few years ago,” he added.

Finishing touches are underway at venues across the City of Light and thousands of athletes and officials are pouring in, while the weather has also cleared after months of rain.

Another advantage for the organisers is that the water quality of the Seine, which will be used for the Olympic outdoor swimming events, has also improved considerably since the beginning of July.

“All the indicators for the Seine are positive at this stage,” added Mr Estanguet.

The river is set to host the opening ceremony next Friday, which will see 6,000 to 7,000 athletes travel along it in 85 barges and boats.

It will be the first time a Summer Olympics has opened outside the main athletics stadium, with up to 300,000 ticketed spectators expected in the stands and on the river banks and another 200,000 expected from the apartments above.

There are still around 4,000 tickets available, Estanguet said.

“We have always tried to maintain the highest possible level of ambition so that these Games make France shine,” added Estanguet.

– “Disturbance” –

The massive security operation required for the opening ceremony, however, has caused some friction, with large parts of central Paris, along the river banks and around the Olympic sites off-limits to most people.

Professional associations representing Parisian shops, restaurants, bars and nightclubs complained Friday of an “unprecedented drop in activity and attendance”, partly blaming “reinforced security measures”.

“We have always made the choice of being fully aware that the success of Paris 2024 would depend on holding the Games in the city,” explained Estanguet. “It was a completely new concept for Paris 2024.”

In addition to the opening ceremony in the heart of the city, many of the sporting events will take place in temporary locations across Paris, with beach volleyball at the Eiffel Tower, archery at Les Invalides and skateboarding on the Place de la Concorde.

“We can’t do it without some disruptions. We can’t do it without some restrictions,” Estanguet said. “We tried to anticipate those restrictions and we communicated them well in advance.”

He thanked “those who understood this because it is truly honoring our country in the most beautiful way.”

– Security –

Around 45,000 French security forces are expected to be on duty Friday evening for the Olympics to kick off at 7:30 p.m. (1730 GMT).

“Security was the number one priority for Paris 2024,” Estanguet said.

Cybersecurity is also a major concern, with a global IT outage last Friday caused by a CrowdStrike software update causing a temporary disruption to the accreditation system used for the Games.

The International Olympic Committee said it was bracing for disinformation attacks targeting the sporting extravaganza following recent incidents blamed on Russia.

Only 15 Russians and 17 Belarusians are accredited to compete as neutrals, as most sports banned Russians and their allies in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

“It’s clear that there’s some sort of campaign going on,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said on Saturday.

“This is not the first nor the last time that the IOC has been the target of fake news. It is becoming more and more sophisticated.”

Adams was responding to a question about a 2023 mockumentary film called “Olympics Has Fallen” that used AI-generated audio to impersonate Hollywood star Tom Cruise.

The film, which falsely presents itself as a Netflix documentary, was apparently designed to erode global support for the Olympics.

Elsewhere, the star-studded United States men’s basketball team narrowly lost to South Sudan in a warm-up match in London on Saturday.

LeBron James scored the decisive points on a running layup with eight seconds left to secure a 101-100 victory at the O2 Arena.

“The ending was good for us, just to feel that, to feel what it’s going to feel like in Paris,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said.

“It reminds us that when we play against teams, it’s the greatest experience of their lives and we have to expect everyone to play like that.”

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