Crowd numbers allowed attend Paris Olympics opening ceremony halved

France's government on Wednesday said it would halve the number of spectators allowed to attend the Paris Olympics opening ceremony – the first to be held outside the usual stadium setting – in order to account for organisational and security challenges.

This illustration released the by Paris 2024 Olympic Committee shows the opening ceremony on 26 July, 2024 which will take part on the River Seine. AFP - FLORIAN HULLEU

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said some 300,000 ticketed spectators would be able to attend the mega show on the River Seine on 26 July.

The traditional Olympics opening parade of athletes and sporting delegations is to take place in boats along a 6-kilometre route of the river. Both banks will be lined by spectators behind multiple security cordons.

Speaking to TV channel France 2, Darmanin said plans would now allow for 100,000 paying spectators with a waterside view, and more than 220,000 people with free tickets on the river’s upper embankments.

His announcement comes on the back of months of speculation about the size of the crowd permitted to watch the flotilla.

Darmanin had earlier referred to around 600,000 spectators when speaking in the Senate. He did not give a reason for why those figures were revised.

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Widespread security

The opening ceremony will involve a massive security operation, with tens of thousands of police officers and soldiers deployed.

"I know that we have the best security forces in the world and that we will succeed in showing that not only that we can win medals, but that we can play host to the world without any problems," Darmanin said.

The idea of the open-air ceremony has been resisted by some senior figures in the security forces because of the difficulty of managing such large crowds and the risk of terror attacks.

Authorities have also had difficulties in persuading the traditional booksellers who line the river from temporarily removing their kiosks in order to make space for spectators.

In December, French president Emmanuel Macron said the ceremony could be moved for security reasons if France again hit in the run-up by extremist attacks.

(with newswires)