Paris faces major security challenges in first post-Covid Games

BERLIN : The International Olympic Committee (IOC) hopes the 2024 Paris Games will be the "light at the end of the tunnel" after two COVID-hit Olympics but organisers face major security challenges before a unique opening ceremony on July 26.

The IOC has been looking forward to a return to Olympic normality in Paris after both the Tokyo Games, delayed by a year to 2021, and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing were staged without spectators or visitors due to the virus.

That will change in Paris, with organisers planning what they describe as a spectacular and first-ever opening ceremony staged outside an Olympic stadium.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators are expected to line the banks of the river Seine to watch the world's biggest multi-sports event kick-off in style.

For the 16 days of competition that follow until the Games close on Aug. 11, however, organisers will be on high alert to ensure the event goes off safely.

France raised its security alert to the highest level in October when a Chechen-origin man fatally stabbed a teacher in an attack at a school in northern France.

Bomb alerts in tourist attractions such as the Louvre museum and Palace of Versailles have also increased in the wake of the Hamas attack in Israel on Oct. 7 and the ensuing war in Gaza.

French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said earlier this month there was no "plan B" for the opening ceremony, her comments coming just days after a man armed with a knife and hammer killed a German tourist and left two people wounded near the Eiffel Tower.

The attack occurred on the Quai de Grenelle - a spot also included in the plans for the opening ceremony.

'UNPRECEDENTED' SECURITY

Keeping athletes and spectators safe is the top priority for organisers and