Paris-2024
Havana, June 26 (PL) - The opening of the Paris-2024 Olympic Games is one month away and its organizers say that the City of Light and France are almost ready to host the great sports festival.
Gradually, the Olympic spirit is taking hold of the French capital and the sub-venues of the event under the five rings, a scenario confirmed by Prensa Latina in a tour of the city that expects to welcome more than 15 million tourists.
The atmosphere is beginning to be contagious, while work is being done at an intense pace to erect temporary structures in symbolic sites such as the Concorde and Trocadero squares, the Champs Elysees, the Alexander III Bridge, the Palace of the Invalides and the Champs de Mars.
The Olympic flame will make a great contribution to the atmosphere as it passes through France on its 12,000-kilometer journey, a popular celebration that will take in more than 400 cities and municipalities, with a stop this Wednesday in the beautiful historic region of Alsace.
The majestic Eiffel Tower has already been sporting for a few days the five giant rings symbolizing the summer event and on Sunday the official statue of the games was inaugurated in the Charles Aznavour Park, carrying a message of peace and fraternity.
We see the effervescence, not everything is ready, but it is taking shape, said the president of the Organizing Committee of the Paris-2024 Olympic Games, Tony Estanguet.
For his part, the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, celebrated over the weekend the preparations for the Olympic Games, scheduled from July 26 to August 11, and the Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8.
The day before, more than a hundred young people tested for the first time the famous purple track of the Stade de France, where the athletics competitions will take place.
There are still challenges to be overcome, in particular those related to the heritage of the Seine River.
The rains of May and June in the Paris region have increased its flow and with it the pollution of its waters, which the analyses show are still not suitable for human bathing, which is worrying because they will have to host the triathlon, the paratriathlon and the marathon swimming.
On Monday, the last simulation of the opening parade of Paris-2024, a unique ceremony in Olympic history, had to be suspended because of the high water level, with more than 300,000 spectators and the parade of athletes in boats.
Another colossal challenge is that of security, with the threat of a latent terrorist attack and the large presence of tourists in the city.
In this regard, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, told Le Parisien newspaper today that they are "extremely prepared" and gave details of the actions underway, including the exclusion of 2,700 people from the preparations and the development of the games, identifying them as a potential risk. The political crisis prevailing in France, just four days before the holding of legislative elections, is also a cause for concern.
