Above all and at all costs. The inauguration of Paris will take place

Despite having everything against them, the French government and the Organizing Committee have decided to proceed with their plan to inaugurate an Olympic Games like never before.

The Seine River is protected like never before. More than 40,000 police officers and members of the French Security are guarding and securing the over 6 km that the athletes will travel in boats for the opening ceremony of these Paris 2024 Games.

We arrived in Paris a few days ago with the entire Claro Sports team that will be broadcasting the Olympic Games, and although there was talk of a significant security system, I never imagined it would be of such magnitude.

We are talking about the city, or one of the most visited cities in the world, and the Organizing Committee managed to keep the center of Paris and the most touristy areas closed for several days, with all that this entails.

The streets are completely empty, the Notre Dame Cathedral is fenced off, and no one can be within 50 meters of it. Not to mention the Louvre Museum, which is completely closed until today. The Trocadero Square and Gardens, where hundreds of thousands of tourists take photos day and night, are also completely empty, and only the lucky ones (like myself) with accreditation or a special permit can access them.

The Champ de Mars, where picnics are usually held and both locals and visitors admire the Eiffel Tower, is also closed; several competitions will be held there, one of them being Beach Volleyball, which for those who managed to get one of the 14,000 tickets will be a total delight.

But there is the other side of the story, where Parisians do not have many reasons to be happy. The streets and public transport have collapsed, the businesses in the most touristy areas of the city look empty due to the low flow of people. And what about the street artists who made a living from the streets of Paris and now do not have that possibility? What will become of them if they stop working for 2 or 3 weeks?

Let’s go further and return to the inauguration. On one hand, the eyes of the world will be on Paris, with all that this entails in terms of image, tourism, and all the positive consequences this could bring.

It promises to be a unique inauguration and an adventure that we may never see again. The challenge is enormous, and it’s no wonder that expectations regarding spectator capacity have been reduced by almost half, still leaving room for about 300,000 spectators.

More than 10,000 athletes paraded on various boats along one of the most iconic rivers in the world. Any bridge, building, palace, or museum they pass will be worth admiring, making it difficult to decide where to focus attention. To top it off, everything ends in a stadium set up at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Better? Truly impossible.

On the other hand, the great concern is regarding security. The threats from ISIS and terrorist groups cannot be ignored. The fear is real and palpable, and we cannot hide it. The tension felt around the area is immense and allows us to understand that any possibility of risk will be minimized. Drones, Artificial Intelligence, helicopters, and everything imaginable will be used to safeguard the event.

All that’s left is to hope that this becomes a celebration. That everything goes as planned and that everyone can enjoy an Olympic Games in peace—which, paradoxically, is a fundamental part of this grand sporting event. Sending that message of peace and unity to the whole world.

The time has come, the best athletes on the planet gathered in one place. Nothing should go wrong.

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