For the first time in its history, the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games will not be held in a stadium, but on a river. The river Seine in Paris, to be precise. Many of the sporting events will be held in public places, too — in the streets of Paris.
As I pass the beautiful Alexandre III bridge, a temporary grandstand is being finished from which spectators will watch cycling events. And so, you get a taste of what is to come in August. The Olympics is already taking over the Right Bank of the Seine (the north side of the river in the centre of Paris) — so much so that tour companies and river cruise excursions are avoiding it, because of road closures and traffic jams which simply don’t move.
Traffic will be suspended between Porte de Versailles and Suzanne Lenglen from July 25 to August 11 and again for the Para Olympics. Fifteen Paris Metro stations will be closed to the public from July 18 as part of security arrangements. Paris Police Prefect Laurent Nunez says: “All Metro stations leading into the protection perimeter will be closed from July 18.
” He adds: “If you set up a watertight perimeter, but allow people to take the Metro and go back up in the middle of this perimeter, it’s no longer watertight.” Locals will just have to walk to work. Just ask them about that.
“We Parisiennes, the Olympics, nous t’aimons ...
je t’aime...
” one tells me, politely, as dramatic as Piaf, raising one of her immaculately laminated black eyebrows. With every .