Paris 2024: Olympic Opening Ceremony capacity slashed in half to ensure security
By Joseph Ataman and Pierre Bairin, CNN
(CNN) — Attendance capacity at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games’ Opening Ceremony – the first to be held along a river – will be halved due to security reasons, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said Tuesday in an interview with French broadcaster France 2.
The minister said there was no specific terrorist threat targeting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris.
Some 104,000 people in stands will line Paris’ Seine river, with a further 220,000 on raised roadways along the six kilometer (nearly four miles) stretch of the river that will host the ceremony, Darmanin said.
French officials had boasted for years that some 600,000 people would be able to attend the Opening Ceremony.
Hosting the ceremony outside a traditional stadium was central to the organizers’ vision of a more inclusive Olympic Games. However, the current attendance will still be equivalent to four times the capacity of the Stade de France, the country’s main stadium, the minister said.
An “anti-terrorist security perimeter” will be put in place in the days leading up to the Opening Ceremony around the Seine, with public access limited, he added.
Airspace around Paris will also be closed for five hours – from 7 p.m. local time in Paris (1 p.m. ET) – on the evening of the Opening Ceremony to prevent any disruption to the event, Darmanin added.
The minister said that there would be a “very significant” anti-drone protocol in place, with French law enforcement having helped with similar measures at the Qatar World Cup.
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