French authorities have abandoned their promise to give tourists free access to the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris when a parade of athletes will occur on boats along the Seine. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin made this announcement yesterday. He said the change in plans was due to security concerns, the Associated Press reported.
Initially, the organizers believed that on July 26, up to 600 thousand people would be able to watch the main events on the banks of the river. It is known that for the sake of this show, many tourists booked hotel rooms and transport tickets in advance. As a result, the number of spectators was halved.
As clarified, the ceremony will be seen by 104 thousand lucky people who bought tickets for passage to the embankments and bridges along the Olympic route. At the same time, the price for the best review reached 2.7 thousand euros. Free invitations to the so-called high stands will be given to 222 thousands people according to quotas for cities and sports federations of the country. Residents of the French capital will be able to see the colorful action only from the windows of apartments overlooking the river and several fan zones.
“In connection with the terrorist threat of recent weeks, we are obliged to make the opening of the Games free, but restrained,” the minister said. In particular, all invitees will be checked by security services and will receive QR codes to overcome police cordons. Intelligence agencies will also monitor the integrity of about 1 million people who must participate, work, or have access to the Olympics.
Tourists planning flights to/from Paris on this day should note that the airspace will be closed within a radius of 150 km for the duration of the ceremony. This means that many hours of delays in scheduled flights are inevitable.