All posts tagged: Seine

Olympics organisers cancel first triathlon training over Seine pollution

Olympics organisers cancel first triathlon training over Seine pollution

Published by Sam

“Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that the priority is the health of the athletes. The analysis carried out yesterday in the Seine showed water quality levels that … do not present sufficient guarantees to allow the event to take place,” the statement said. Organisers blamed rain in recent days and said they were “confident” water quality would improve enough before the triathlon competition is due to start on Jul 30. In the event of heavy rain, untreated sewage can be washed into the river. If the quality is below standards a “Plan B” involves postponing the events for a few days or moving the marathon swimming to Vaires-sur-Marne, on the Marne river east of Paris. On Jul 17, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo swam in the Seine along with Paris 2024 chief organiser Tony Estanguet. Source link

Tests expose worrying flaws in France’s anti-drone system for 2024 Olympics

Tests expose worrying flaws in France’s anti-drone system for 2024 Olympics

Published by Sam

With less than 100 days to go before Paris hosts the 2024 Olympics, which organisers plan to open with an elaborate waterborne ceremony on the Seine river, concerns are mounting about the efficiency of the anti-drone shield meant to protect the French capital from a potential terror attack. According to several security sources, recent tests have exposed some worrying flaws in the system. The anti-drone system Parade has been especially developed to protect the Parisian skies throughout the July 26-September 8 Olympics and Paralympics. But various French media report that the system performed worse than expected during a March exercise. “On two of the sites where Parade was tested, it didn’t work as well as expected. Put in other words, Parade stopped the drones, but within a much smaller perimeter than expected,” an observer of the “Coubertin LAD 2” exercise told the French weekly Marianne. Satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaîné said the system had performed even worse than during the first exercise, “Coubertin LAD 1”, that was held to test its efficiency. During that exercise, …

Security fears over splashy River Seine opening ceremony of Paris Olympics

Security fears over splashy River Seine opening ceremony of Paris Olympics

Published by Sam

The talk before the opening ceremony of the Paris Games ideally should be about its grandiose backdrop: a summer sun setting on the Seine River as athletes drift by in boats and wave to cheering crowds. But behind the romantic veneer that Paris has long curated, mounting security concerns already have had an impact on the unprecedented open-air event. In January, the number of spectators allowed to attend the ceremony was slashed from around 600,000 to around 320,000. Tourists were told they won’t be allowed to watch it for free from riverbanks because the French government scaled back ambitions amid ongoing security threats. Then, on March 24, France raised its security readiness to the highest level after a deadly attack at a Russian concert hall and the Islamic State group’s claim of responsibility. French President Emmanuel Macron says the ceremony could be shifted instead to the national stadium at Stade de France if the security threat is deemed too high. Security and transportation are the biggest concerns heading into the Paris Games, which run from July …

Paris 2024 Olympic flame lit in Greece at ancient birthplace of the Games

Paris 2024 Olympic flame lit in Greece at ancient birthplace of the Games

Published by Sam

The sacred flame for the Paris 2024 Olympics was lit Tuesday in ancient Olympia, birthplace of the ancient Games, setting off an epic three-month torch relay to the July 26 opening ceremony.  Issued on: 16/04/2024 – 12:21 3 min Cloudy skies prevented the traditional lighting, when an actress dressed as an ancient Greek priestess uses the sun to ignite a silver torch. Instead, a backup flame was used that had been lit on the same spot Monday, during the final rehearsal. The torch relay will culminate with the lighting of the Olympic flame in the French capital at the Games’ opening ceremony. Paris will host the summer Olympics for a third time after 1900 and 1924. “In these difficult times we are living through, with wars and conflicts on the rise, people are fed up with all the hate, the aggression and negative news they are facing day in and day out,” International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said in his speech. “We are longing for something which brings us together, something that is unifying, …

Paris Olympics must have ‘plan B’ for Seine events, swim champion says

Paris Olympics must have ‘plan B’ for Seine events, swim champion says

Published by Sam

Brazilian swimmer Ana Marcela Cunha, the reigning Olympic open water champion, has called on organisers of this year’s Paris Games to draw up a “plan B” in case events cannot be held in the Seine due to poor water quality. Issued on: 10/03/2024 – 13:37Modified: 10/03/2024 – 13:35 3 min Last August, the marathon swimming test events were cancelled because the water was too dirty, as were the swimming legs on two of the four days of triathlon and para-triathlon tests. Organisers have insisted “there is no plan B” but the Brazilian called for a rethink. “It’s a concern,” Cunha told AFP in an interview on the sidelines of a competition on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach. “There was no test event last year because of this but (the organisers) insist on wanting the events to take place there. “We need a plan B in case it’s not possible to swim in the Seine,” she said adding that difficulties in swimming in Paris were linked to an “infrastructure” problem. “The Seine is not made for …

Paris organisers cast doubt on holding Olympic swimming events in the Seine

Paris organisers cast doubt on holding Olympic swimming events in the Seine

Published by Sam

Organisers of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris may be feeling a little queasy over their commitment to hold open water swimming in the scenic but often polluted Seine. Issued on: 26/02/2024 – 03:15Modified: 26/02/2024 – 03:14 4 min Last August, the marathon swimming test events were cancelled because the water was too dirty, as were the swimming legs on two of the four days of triathlon and para-triathlon tests. The city of Paris has insisted “there is no plan B”. The course for the men’s and women’s 10-kilometre events will start at the iconic beaux-art Pont Alexandre-III and, with the Invalides and Eiffel Tower in the background, head 1km down river past other famed attractions, including the Musee d’Orsay, and the Grand Palais. Perhaps appropriately, it passes the newly-renovated Paris Sewer Museum and the more minimalist Pont d’Alma before looping back. The triathlon swims are shorter and will turn back sooner. It is a route chosen to showcase the beauty of Paris. It is also politically symbolic: swimming has been banned in the Seine …

Paris iconic riverside booksellers can stay put during Olympics, Macron rules

Paris iconic riverside booksellers can stay put during Olympics, Macron rules

Published by Sam

French President Emmanuel Macron has intervened in a row over the removal of booksellers from the banks of the river Seine for the Paris Olympics, ruling that they should stay at their historic locations, his office said February 13. Issued on: 13/02/2024 – 20:00 2 min Hundreds of booksellers, who operate from little dark green boxes by the river, were set to be temporarily removed ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony on the Seine on July 26. The head of the Cultural Association of Booksellers of Paris had likened the removal efforts to a “tooth extraction” and the organisation announced last month that it would launch legal efforts to stop the process. Macron “has asked the interior minister and the Paris prefect’s office that all of the booksellers are preserved and that none of them are forced to move,” a statement from the president’s office said. The decision came after “no consensual and reassuring solution” could be found with the traders, who have been a feature of Parisian life for some 150 years. Already struggling …

France halves crowd numbers for Olympics opening ceremony on River Seine

France halves crowd numbers for Olympics opening ceremony on River Seine

Published by Sam

The French government announced Wednesday that it had slashed the number of spectators attending the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics amid security and other organisational challenges. Issued on: 31/01/2024 – 10:57Modified: 31/01/2024 – 10:55 2 min The traditional opening parade of Olympic sporting delegations is set to take place in boats on the river Seine on July 26, the first time the ceremony has been held outside the main athletics stadium. After months of speculation about the size of the crowd permitted to watch the flotilla, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin told the France 2 channel on Tuesday “around 300,000” ticketed spectators would attend. He had earlier referred to around 600,000 when speaking in the Senate in October 2022, while other members of the government and organisers had spoken of 400,000-500,000. “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 (at the Olympics) but that we can play host to the world without any problems,” Darmanin told …

Bradley Cooper’s bond with rarely-seen young daughter Lea de Seine

Bradley Cooper’s bond with rarely-seen young daughter Lea de Seine

Published by skeptic

He’s one of Hollywood’s biggest names and has bagged another Academy Award nomination for his role as Leonard Bernstein in his self-directed biopic, Maestro. But when it comes to his family, Bradley Cooper likes to keep things low-key. The star and his ex-partner, supermodel Irina Shayk, welcomed their daughter, Lea de Seine, back in 2017 but called time on their relationship two years later. However, the former couple have been spotted putting their differences aside and showing how to co-parent like professionals for the sake of their six-year-old. And although Bradley might have a new woman in his life (Gigi Hadid, in case you missed it), it’s clear the actor puts his daughter first. Here’s more about their adorable father-daughter closeness… © Axelle/Bauer-GriffinBradley Cooper and Lea De Seine Shayk Cooper attend Netflix’s “Maestro” Los Angeles Photo Call at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on December 12, 2023 in Los Angeles, California Bradley Cooper and Lea’s father-daughter bond In the years that Bradley has been a dad, he has been spotted out with Lea a handful …