Preparations for the Paris Olympics accelerated on Saturday as security teams conducted thorough checks along the banks of the Seine in anticipation of Friday’s opening ceremony. Top International Olympic Committee officials also convened in the French capital to oversee final arrangements.
Police, accompanied by sniffer dogs, meticulously inspected the six-kilometer (four-mile) route along the Seine. The ceremony will feature 6,000–7,000 athletes sailing on nearly a hundred barges and riverboats, performing in front of 300,000 spectators.
Security measures will be reinforced by police from several countries, including Spain, Britain, and Qatar.
An early rehearsal for the ceremony took place on the river, though it was shielded from public and media view by security barriers and police presence.
The stakes are high for this unique parade, marking the first time the Summer Games’ opening ceremony will be held outside a stadium.
The preparations have significantly disrupted the lives of central Paris residents, who now need a special QR code pass to cross the Seine.
“We’ve had far fewer customers than usual for the last two weeks. There aren’t many tourists, and lots of Parisians have left town. All our local clientele has gone,” said Behi Samadian, 69, who runs a boutique in Saint-Germain-des-Pres.
Team delegations have started to check into the athletes’ village, although some arrivals were delayed by Friday’s global IT crash.
“Like many organizations, we were affected by the global Microsoft outage,” Games chief organizer Tony Estanguet told reporters on Friday. “All of our servers were impacted this morning.”
Fortunately, the accreditation systems were restored by Friday evening.
In more positive news for organizers, the ticketing systems were not affected.
A record-breaking 8.7 million tickets have already been sold, surpassing the previous record set by the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Tickets are still available for some of the 45 sports, so the figure is expected to rise further.
