Paris “ready” for the Olympics, according to the organizers

Tony Estanguet (C), president of Paris 2024, speaks during a press conference at the Paris 2024 Main Press Center in Paris, France, July 21, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)

PARIS, July 21 (Xinhua) — With just five days to go until the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, organizers have declared themselves “ready” for the Games and promised a clean Seine.

“We are ready for the final phase,” Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, said at a press conference on Sunday. “We are today exactly where we would have dreamed of being a few years ago.”

Final adjustments are being made at venues across Paris as thousands of athletes and officials arrive in the city and the weather improves significantly. Notably, the water quality of the Seine River, which will be used for the opening ceremony, marathon swim and triathlons, has improved significantly since early July, according to Estanguet.

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

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo (L) and Tony Estanguet swim in the Seine River less than 10 days before the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, July 17, 2024. (Xinhua/Cao Can)

The Paris 2024 chief also highlighted the lasting legacy of environmental improvements through improved water quality. “We have put a lot of energy into this over the last few months, and recent tests show that everything is in the green. We monitor everything multiple times a day,” he said.

“By 2025, we will leave a clean Seine in which people can bathe in different places. This will be a legacy,” Estanguet added.

Playing a crucial role in the opening ceremony, the Seine will welcome 6,000 to 7,000 athletes aboard 85 barges and boats. This is the first time that a Summer Olympics opening ceremony will take place outside the main athletics stadium. Up to 300,000 ticketed spectators are expected to attend from the stands and riverbanks, and another 200,000 from nearby apartments.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)