With less than a month left until the Olympic Games in Paris, the main concern of the organizers is related to ensuring security.
“These will be safe Olympic Games, let’s be ready,” French Ambassador to Latvia Aurelia Royer-Gounen said at a press conference yesterday. Around 30,000 police officers will take care of security every day, several canine experts from Latvia with dogs Jack and Reggie have also been invited.
45 thousand security guards will be on duty at the opening ceremony, which will be unique because for the first time it will take place not in the stadium, but on the Seine river and more than 300 thousand spectators will be able to follow it in person.
More than 150 representatives of national governments will visit France during the Olympic Games. The French emphasize political support for Ukraine in the war against Russia. France has allocated one million euros to help more than 200 Ukrainian Olympians in the preparation process.
When asked by “Latvijas Avīzes” to express her attitude regarding the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in the Paris Games in a neutral status, Aurelija Royer-Gunena said that France is the organizer of the games, but the decision about the participants was made by the IOC. The rules regarding the neutrality of the athletes of the aggressor countries are strict and there will be sanctions if they are violated, they will not be able to participate in the opening ceremony, there will be no national flag or anthem. “We have limited options. It was an independent decision of the IOC, which was accepted by the world sports community, as well as Ukraine,” the ambassador emphasized.
According to her, the French government could not intervene and, for example, not issue visas to the representatives of the occupiers to enter the country, justifying it with the Schengen zone. France defending democratic values and not being able to go against them with its actions. The ambassador also admitted that the organizers are carefully preparing to prevent cybercrimes, these threats are also mainly related to Russia.
Parisians are used to the masses of tourists, so they will not feel any significant inconvenience due to the influx of guests in the city, although many locals plan to leave for the time of the games. In Paris, two new metro lines were created before the games, as well as cycle paths extended by 415 kilometers.
Ernests Sēbolds in BMX freestyle has added to the pool of Latvian Olympians. In the Olympic qualification competition, he remained behind the line, however, overall good results and 13th place in last year’s world championship allowed the 25-year-old from Ventspils to qualify for the Olympics. BMX freestyle made its debut in the Olympic Games program in 2021 in Tokyo, and Sēbolds will be the first representative of Latvia to compete in this sport at the Olympic Games.
The Paris Olympic Games will take place from July 26 to August 11.
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2024-06-29 21:11:24
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