Macron Unveils Backup Plan for Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony if Seine Security Risk Escalates
On Monday, the French president declared that in the event of a security threat, the July 26 ceremony might relocate to either the Trocadéro or the Stade de France as a Backup Plan for Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday, April 15, the Paris Olympics opening ceremony could move from the river Seine to a different site in the event of a security threat. Macron said in an interview with BFM TV that instead of teams sailing down the Seine on barges, the ceremony could be “limited to the Trocadéro,” across the river from the Eiffel Tower, or “even moved to the Stade de France.”
“This opening ceremony… is a world first. We can do it and we are going to do it,” Macron said. But, he added, “there are Plan Bs and Plan Cs”, including moving the ceremony to the Stade de France to the north of Paris. Having the ceremony in the main stadium “is what happens traditionally,” Macron said. “We will analyze this in real time,” Macron added.
He also said he would do “everything possible” to have an Olympic truce during the Games. The truce is a historic tradition that peace reigns during the Olympics.
“We want to work towards an Olympic truce and I think it is an occasion for me to engage with a lot of our partners,” he said.
For the First Time in Olympics History: The event scheduled for July 26 marks the inaugural Olympic opening ceremony to take place outside of a stadium in Paris. Approximately 10,500 athletes will traverse a 6-kilometer route through the heart of the French capital aboard boats along the Seine.
