MADRID, 25 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of the Organizing Committee for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tony Estanguet, remains optimistic about carrying out the “challenge” of holding the event’s Opening Ceremony on the Seine River despite the recent doubts regarding security .
“This ceremony is a challenge. We didn’t choose the easy path, but I accept it and I believe that France is capable of organizing great moments of meeting people and celebrating,” Estanguet assured in an interview with ‘L’Equipe’.
The triple Olympic champion recalled that the decision was made to choose this innovative location “after really looking at the ins and outs” and pointed out that they continue to “advance” despite the fact that the capital has suffered “recently security incidents” such as those experienced in the Champions League final.
“For more than a year the teams have been working together. There are steering groups on security, with the police headquarters, with the city… We continue to look at all the challenges, all the issues and how we are advancing in the distribution of everyone’s roles. All of this is discussed, we have monthly meetings on the subject and a specific group on the Seine that mobilizes all the actors of this ecosystem to anticipate the issues well,” he said.
In this sense, he hopes that they can count on “all available and additional human resources”, including private security, although he stressed that it is the Government that “continues to be the guarantor of security and who will guarantee the continuity of security”, an aspect that has gone from 200 to almost 300 million euros “in the last budget review”.