‘Games wide open’ is the motto for this year’s Paris Olympics, which officially begin on Friday with the opening ceremony.
It is the first time in 100 years that the French capital has hosted the summer Games, with the majority of the events taking place in or around the city’s most iconic areas.
Friday’s opening ceremony will see boats carry athletes and dignitaries down 6km of the River Seine, with room for 300,000 spectators.
Few details are known about the event – though there has been speculation about Celine Dion and Lady Gaga performing – with the ceremony’s artistic director Thomas Jolly saying he wants to “show France in all its diversity”.
The Paris Games is the first to achieve gender parity among athletes, with 5,250 male and 5,250 female athletes set to compete.
With millions expected to attend the Games, Paris is making the final touches for a Games it hopes will be like no other.
Paris ‘ready’ after water concerns and security worries
French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this week that the country was “ready and we will be ready throughout the Games”.
However, some Parisians have used social media to warn people about issues such as overcrowding, price inflation and difficulties in getting around the city.
There is a huge security operation in place, with up to 5,000 police, soldiers and hired guards on patrol at any one time. The Seine – the river than runs through the centre of Paris – has been fenced off for the opening ceremony, leaving residents needing QR codes to access certain areas.
That has affected local businesses along the Seine, leading to some criticism, but French authorities say the barricades will be removed after Friday’s event.
The cost of this year’s Games is expected to be about 9bn euros (£7.6bn), with the organising committee promising to make it the greenest Olympics in history.
Only two arenas are new and purpose-built – an aquatics centre and an arena for badminton and rhythmic gymnastics.
Other iconic venues such as the Stade de France – the national stadium – and French Open tennis venue Roland Garros will host events, alongside historic sites such as the Grand Palais and the Place de la Concorde.
One of the big concerns in the build-up was the water quality of the Seine, which will host the swimming leg of the triathlon and open-water events.
Swimming in the river was banned for a century because of the water quality, with tests in June still showing levels of E.coli above the upper limits imposed by sports federations.
However, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo swam in the river on 17 July to try to prove it was safe.
The water will be tested regularly in different areas before the events.
New events and familiar faces ready to compete
There is only one new event at this year’s Games – breaking, a style of dance that originated in the Bronx in New York.
Some events have had tweaks, including men being eligible to compete in artistic synchronised swimming for the first time in Olympic history, although none have been selected for Paris.
The Games will also be the final Olympics for some of Britain’s finest.
Two-time tennis gold medallist Andy Murray will end his career in Paris, as will Britain’s most successful gymnast, Max Whitlock.
Adam Peaty, three-time Olympic gold medallist in the pool, returns to the Games after taking a mental health break from the sport.
On the track, Katarina Johnson-Thompson will look to avenge her heartbreak from Tokyo 2021, when a calf injury in the 200m led to her pulling out of the heptathlon.
But dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin will not be there, withdrawing after footage emerged of her “excessively” whipping a horse.
Elsewhere, Simone Biles, the world’s most decorated gymnast, returns after her struggles in Tokyo, while Stephen Curry features in the basketball.
Their American compatriots Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles will look to shine on the track, while Jamaica’s iconic Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce seeks to sign off her career with yet another medal.
Athletes send ‘resounding message of peace’
Russia and its ally Belarus are banned from sending athletes to the Games amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The 36 Russian and 24 Belarusian athletes who are in Paris will compete as Individual Neutral Athletes (INA), which means there will be no national anthems or flags on display.
Those who are competing had to meet strict criteria set out by the International Olympic Committee, such as not actively supporting the war, and then pass a vetting check by their national federation and the IOC.
The decision to allow Russian and Belarusian nationals to compete has been criticised by some, but IOC president Thomas Bach defended the decision.
Athletes gathered in the Olympic Village earlier this week with Bach, wearing scarves with the message “give peace a chance” on them.
“You, the Olympic athletes, are the peace ambassadors of our time,” Bach said.
“You will compete fiercely against each other. At the same time, you are living peacefully together under one roof, here in the Olympic Village.
“You are respecting the same rules and most importantly you are respecting each other.
“In this way, you are sending a resounding message of peace from Paris to the world.”
Opening ceremony ‘like no other’
Paris’ ambitious opening ceremony will be the first time a summer Olympics has begun outside the main athletics stadium.
It is expected to last just under four hours and will also include the official opening of the Games, carried out by President Macron, and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.
The union representing hundred of dancers in the ceremony had threatened to strike over pay, but French media reported it had been called off after a new offer.
The opening ceremony begins at 19:30 CET (18:30 BST) on Friday, 26 July.
It will be shown live on BBC One (from 17:45 BST), BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.
There will be radio coverage on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds from 19:00 BST, as well as live text coverage on the BBC Sport website and app.
Rower Helen Glover and diver Tom Daley will be flagbearers for Team GB. Other notable choices include tennis player Coco Gauff and basketball legend LeBron James for the United States and boxer Cindy Ngamba and taekwondo athlete Yahya Al-Ghotany for the refugee team.
Although Friday is the official opening of the Games, some sports have already begun, such as men’s rugby sevens and both men and women’s football.
The men’s football got off to a chaotic start when Morocco’s 2-1 win over Argentina took almost four hours to complete after play was suspended after crowd trouble.
Source Agencies
