Soldiers from Operation Sentinel patrol the Trocadéro esplanade, near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, April 15, 2024. JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP
Emmanuel Macron confirmed it: there is indeed “fallback scenarios, plans B and even plans C” at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games scheduled for the Seine on July 26. Alternative options would include an event “limited to the Trocadéro and not the whole of the Seine”declared, Monday April 15, the President of the Republic interviewed on BFM-TV and RMC, even “repatriated to the Stade de France”, “because that’s what is classically done.”
This is not the first time that the Head of State has officially spoken of plan B, or even C. But until now he had never clearly mentioned the Stade de France as a fallback solution, certainly considered as a last resort. .
Using the Saint-Denis enclosure (Seine-Saint-Denis) is not the preferred scenario, insisted the president, who reaffirmed his desire to stick to plan A: “this opening ceremony” on the Seine, “this is a first in the world. We can do it and we will do it”he insisted.
The opening ceremony on the river which crosses the capital represents an enormous logistical and security challenge. Some 45,000 police and gendarmerie forces are responsible for securing the nautical parade of the Olympic delegations along six kilometers of banks. More than 320,000 spectators are expected – 104,000 with paid tickets on the lower platforms, 222,000 with free access, compared to 500,000 originally planned on the high platforms. Dozens of heads of state should also be present at the Trocadéro.
If the Elysée decided to “repatriate” the festivities to Saint-Denis because of the terrorist threat, it would be a renunciation of one of the major commitments of these Paris Games: to organize for the first time Olympic history an opening ceremony outside a stadium. “We will do an analysis in real time” risks, argued Emmanuel Macron.
The President of the Republic’s declaration on Monday nevertheless adds many unknowns to the equation. Trocadéro or Stade de France, the fallback perimeters mentioned do not have the same impacts in terms of artistic ambition or spectator gauge.
“An adjusted show” at the Trocadéro
What would become of the show and the great national story that director Thomas Jolly and his teams have been working on for months for the opening ceremony? A technical rehearsal on the Seine has already taken place – another must be organized at the end of May -, other artistic rehearsals are taking place out of sight in secret hangars, many dancers and choreographers have already been hired…
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2024-04-15 17:15:12
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