Countdown to Paris Olympics 2024: Opening Ceremony, Mascot, and Preparations Revealed

2023-07-28 07:22:47

[Voice of Hope July 28, 2023](Comprehensive report by our reporter Chen Yiran) In July 2024, Paris will transform from a famous tourist destination into a sports arena attracting global attention. On the one-year countdown to the Paris Olympics, let us explore the opening ceremony, mascot, and various preparations for the Paris Olympics.

July 26 is the penultimate anniversary of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games, and all departments of the French government are in full swing to carry out various preparations. French President Emmanuel Macron recently met with members of the government, elected officials and representatives of all parties involved in organizing the Olympic Games to plan the course of action for preparing for the Paris Olympic Games in the next twelve months.

Macron believes that there are two priorities that need to be considered at present. One is to further mobilize French people to participate, and the other is to allow tourists to France to have a good experience.

A new study by the city of Paris estimates that more than 1.2 million people will visit Paris during the Olympics next year. Therefore, the Paris government pays special attention to the quality of public transportation, safety, medical care and catering services, hoping to leave a good impression on the audience who come to participate in the Olympic Games.

Tony Estanguet, chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Paris Olympic Games, said that the final sprint is now underway, and top athletes from more than 200 countries around the world will be welcomed one year later. At present, preparations for the Olympic Games are proceeding as planned, and we look forward to next year’s Olympic Games being even more exciting than the previous one.

A century following hosting the Games, Paris will host the Games once more next year. Stade de France, Roland-Garros Stadium, Champs-Elysées, Place de la Concorde, Eiffel Tower, etc. Some famous scenic spots in Paris will be transformed into venues for Olympic events.

IOC: Russia and Belarus not invited to Paris Olympics

International Olympic Committee (CIO) President Thomas Bach (Thomas Bach) announced the formal invitation of 203 countries to participate in next year’s Paris Olympic Games at a ceremony held at the headquarters of the Olympic Organizing Committee in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris, on July 26, Russia and Belarus excepted.

However, the IOC reiterated that it will decide at any time whether to invite Russia or Belarus at its own discretion and is not bound by the results of previous Olympic qualifiers.

Guatemala was suspended by the International Olympic Committee in October 2022 due to political interference in the election of its national Olympic committee president. So this time I did not receive an invitation to the Paris Olympics.

The opening ceremony was held outside the stadium for the first time in Olympic history

According to tradition, the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games is usually held in the Olympic Stadium, but next year the opening ceremony will be held on the famous Seine River in Paris, and the audience will see the opening ceremony not held in the stadium for the first time in the history of the Olympic Games.

At that time, Olympic contestants from all over the world will take a cruise ship to parade along the Seine River, pass by the iconic sights of Paris, and enjoy the Olympic venues. The total number of related boats will reach 140 to 170. In order to ensure the smooth progress of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games next year, a small rehearsal of the “Water Opening Ceremony” was held on the Seine River in Paris on July 17 this year, with 57 boats participating, equivalent to half of the opening ceremony boats.

It is expected that 600,000 spectators will watch the opening ceremony live, which is 10 times the number of people in traditional stadiums. The opening will be open to everyone: local residents of Paris and its surroundings, as well as tourists from the rest of France and the world. There is no entry fee for most spectators at the Upstream Pier. Those wishing to watch the opening ceremony at the downstream pier, from the Austerlitz Bridge to the Jena Bridge, need to purchase tickets.

On the one-year countdown to the Paris Olympic Games, French TV France24 interviewed Thomas Joly, the artistic director of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games. The 40-year-old Jolly is a well-known French theater genius director and actor, and is currently in charge of the Angers National Theater Center.

He lamented: “This is a lifetime show, this is the world’s largest show”, which really makes people feel pressured, “There are too many things to do, and it is so exciting to create such a huge show “.

Joly believes that from an artistic point of view, the Seine River is the setting of the most beautiful city in the world. The history of France and Paris are here. “Together with the creative team, we research, excavate, visit and search in all aspects, Look for anything that might be a spectacle to finally frame the history of France”.

The mascot of the Paris Olympic Games is named “Frige”, which is an anthropomorphic Phrygian cap and a symbol of France.

According to reports, the Phrygian skullcap is also known as the Cap of Liberty, and its typical color is red. During the American Revolution and the French Revolution in the 18th century, the Phrygian hat was widely spread as a symbol of freedom and liberation. In ancient Greek and Roman culture, the Phrygian hat is a symbol of the East.

Alain JOLY, president of Doudou et Compagnie, the French national plush toy company responsible for the manufacture of “Frige”, said in an interview with RFI in May this year that their group won the first place in the bidding, “Our group meets almost all the requirements, among which The most important requirements, one is that the technology must be strong, and the other is that it is made in France, so we were selected.”

The president of JOLY also mentioned, “To make a mascot, you need to be proficient in operating technology, so you need sufficient manpower and sufficient technical training, because there is no specialized toy manufacturing occupation in France. In any case, we The whole group has this will, so that France can produce more mascots.”

He hopes that foreign tourists and local French tourists will like these mascots, “buy a lot of Frige and send them all over the world.” RFI commented that behind this Olympic dream is the dream of “Made in France”, the dream of bringing manufacturing back to France.

Most of the venues of the Paris Olympic Games have continued to use and refurbish existing venues, and the largest reconstruction project is undoubtedly the Olympic Village. According to the introduction of French TV France24, the Paris 2024 Olympic Village under construction is located in the north of Paris and spans three cities. It covers an area of ​​52 hectares, equivalent to 70 football fields. The construction will start in 2019, and it is expected to be delivered by the end of this year. About 15,000 athletes and their entourages from all countries participating in the Olympic Games will stay here.

The construction of the Paris Olympic Village has gone through several periods of international crisis. The person in charge of Solideo, which is responsible for the construction of the facilities for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, said, “We have encountered the new crown epidemic, the war in Ukraine, and the epidemic ban in China.” Find solutions to the supply problems caused by the war in Ukraine, find ways to continue construction during the new crown epidemic, and find other ways and solutions for the closure of the country due to the epidemic in China.” At present, the infrastructure construction of the Olympic Village is proceeding smoothly as planned.

After the Paris Olympic Games, the Olympic Village will be transformed into a new urban area, which can accommodate 6,000 residents, and there are shops, schools and offices in the area. Etienne Thobois, chief executive of the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee, said that following the Olympic Games, more than 2,000 residences, thousands of square meters of offices, public services and public spaces will be built here, and it will become a future urban area. 1. Plan to ensure the subsequent successful use of Olympic facilities.

The report pointed out that the longer-term goal of the construction of this new district is to change the face of the local Seine-Saint-Denis department, one of the poorest departments in France.

The Paris Olympic Games will be held from July 26 to August 11, 2024. During the one-year countdown, French media compiled three major challenges facing the Paris Olympic Games: safety, transportation and accommodation.

The first major challenge is to ensure the “safety” of the event and participants. The UEFA Champions League at the Stade de France in May last year was criticized for poor security enforcement.

However, Tony Estanguet, chairman of the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee, emphasized that the “security measures will be unprecedented” this time; Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said that, in addition to the military, next year’s The Olympic Games will also introduce a private security system.

The social atmosphere in France is also worthy of attention. “Two years ago, the social atmosphere was very different, and now there are risks,” Bao’s organizing committee told France 1, referring to conflicts including protests once morest the reform of the retirement system and the riots in France in early July.

The second biggest challenge is “traffic”. Paris will be the first Olympics where 100% of all venues will be accessible by public transport. With 7 million people flocking to the Olympics, the construction and scheduling of public transportation, overtime planning for employees during the summer vacation, and the control of vehicles in the center of Paris will all be major projects.

The person in charge of the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee said that each district holds specific meetings on transportation every week to coordinate transportation issues related to the Olympic Games.

The third test is “housing”. Paris welcomes 45 million tourists a year, and next year’s Olympics are expected to add regarding 20 million more. How to meet additional needs, as well as the deployment and supervision of hotels, restaurants and homestays are also projects of concern to the Paris government.

Responsible editor: Zhang Lili

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