“Riding” on the Seine River and “carbon reduction” in the Olympic Village
There are new ideas in preparation for the Paris Olympics
The Paris Olympic Games will be held from July 26 to August 11. There are currently less than 150 days until the opening of the Olympic Games.
"The Olympics are more open" is the slogan of the Paris Olympics.
Recently, details related to the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games were announced. For the first time, the creative plan went out of the stadium and onto the Seine River, demonstrating the French's confidence in creating an "open" Olympic Games.
Opening ceremony plan confirmed
Throughout the history of the modern Olympics, the opening ceremonies have been held in closed stadiums.
Therefore, when the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee announced that it would hold the opening ceremony on the Seine in 2021, this seemingly fanciful plan attracted much attention.
Recently, the opening ceremony on the banks of the Seine was finally announced.
The Paris Olympic Organizing Committee announced that the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games will begin at 7:30 pm local time on July 26 (1:30 pm on July 27, Beijing time).
According to the vision of the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee, the opening ceremony will kick off at sunset.
By then, the afterglow of the setting sun will illuminate the Seine.
More than 10,000 athletes from national and regional delegations took a cruise ship and sailed about 6 kilometers from east to west on the Seine River, passing landmarks such as Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, the Pont des Arts and the Orsay Museum, and finally arrived on the other side of the Eiffel Tower. Trocadéro Square, where you will participate in the opening ceremony's follow-up procedures and celebratory ceremonies.
According to reports, 180 ships will participate in the opening ceremony, 94 of which will be used to transport athletes.
The Paris Olympic Organizing Committee also arranged art performances and 12 paintings showing the cultural heritage of France and Paris along the boat "parade".
Tony Estanguet, chairman of the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee, said that the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games will interpret "the intersection of sports and the city" and that the light of the setting sun will add a "poetic dimension" to the opening ceremony. "Athletes and the public are welcome to appreciate the city of Paris." The natural beauty of the city of light and shadow.”
The Paris Olympic Organizing Committee initially hoped to have 2 million spectators participate in the grand parade of the opening ceremony.
That number has been cut to 300,000 due to security concerns.
Still, this will set a new record for the number of spectators at an Olympic opening ceremony.
Among them, 104,000 ticket-buying spectators can watch the opening ceremony at close range on the river bank near the water.
Another 222,000 people will watch from the higher stands with free tickets.
Free tickets will be distributed to residents of the event venue, local sports associations and relevant organizers and their partners.
In addition to ticket holders, on the day of the opening ceremony, an estimated 200,000 people were expected to "watch" along the river and on buildings overlooking the Seine, and another 50,000 people were watching in the "fan zone" in Paris.
According to the French Ministry of the Interior, for safety reasons, the French government will close all airports and airspace within a radius of 150 kilometers centered on Paris before, during and after the opening ceremony.
In addition, French security services have begun risk screening of about 1 million people, including athletes, journalists, private security guards and people living near critical infrastructure.
Olympic Village officially delivered
The Olympic Village for the Paris Olympic Games was officially delivered a few days ago.
The entire Olympic Village covers an area of approximately 52 hectares and has a total of 82 buildings.
In addition to approximately 3,000 apartments, the Olympic Village has restaurants, shops, a police station, a clinic, a beauty salon, a fitness center, a post office and other facilities.
Among them, the athletes restaurant can accommodate more than 3,000 people dining at the same time and provides 6 themed dishes.
During the Paris Olympics, the Olympic Village will receive more than 14,000 athletes and staff.
After the Olympics, the Olympic Village will be handed over to the local government and it is expected that approximately 2,800 apartments will be built for sale and rental, benefiting approximately 6,000 local residents.
According to reports, low-carbon concrete, wooden structures and renewable geothermal heating systems were used in the construction of the Olympic Village. The carbon emissions of the Olympic Village are about half that of traditional buildings.
Some furniture and public lighting fixtures are made from recycled wood and steel pipes.
The athletes' beds are similar to those at the Tokyo Olympics - the base is made of reinforced cardboard and the mattress is made from recycled fishing nets.
It is worth mentioning that there is no "standard" air conditioning in the Olympic Village.
The geothermal system in the athletes' apartments will draw cold water from the ground. It is said that the indoor temperature in summer will be 6 degrees Celsius lower than the outdoor temperature.
Reducing carbon emissions is an important goal of the Paris Olympics.
In terms of venues, there are only two new venues for the Paris Olympics, and most projects will be carried out in existing or temporary venues.
New venues include the Arena La Chapelle in central Paris, which will host Olympic gymnastics and badminton events.
Recently, the 2024 French Badminton Open was held here to test the Olympic competition.
Another newly built venue is an aquatics center with wood as its main building structure.
Facing many tests
Paris hosted the Olympic Games twice, in 1900 and 1924.
A hundred years later, the Olympic Games once again returned to the hometown of Coubertin, the "Father of the Modern Olympics", which undoubtedly gave this Olympic Games a richer meaning.
France is fully prepared for the Olympic Games’ “hundred-year return”.
However, as the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games approaches, the many tests faced by this Olympic Games have also affected the nerves of all parties.
One of them is the heat.
Studies have found that Paris is likely to experience record high temperatures during the Olympics.
In the past five years, Paris has experienced many heat waves in the summer.
In July 2019, Paris set a high temperature record of 42.6 degrees Celsius.
Since there is no air conditioning installed in the Olympic Village, many national delegations have stated that they will provide their own air conditioning equipment for athletes.
Regarding the possible high temperature weather, a spokesperson of the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee said that necessary targeted measures will be taken.
Such as adjusting the competition time of outdoor sports such as track and field, tennis and beach volleyball.
The open water swimming and triathlon swimming events of the Paris Olympics will be held on the Seine.
There are also concerns about water quality in the event area.
In the past year, the water quality of the Seine has not reached expected levels, and many events, including the Open Water Swimming World Cup, were canceled due to water quality issues.
Once heavy rain occurs in Paris, untreated rainwater and sewage may be discharged into rivers, causing bacterial levels to rise and posing a health risk to athletes.
In response, Paris said they had taken a series of measures to improve water quality.
France has reportedly spent 1.4 billion euros to upgrade sewage and stormwater runoff treatment facilities in the Paris region to improve the water quality of the Seine River and its main tributary, the Marne River.
French President Macron recently stated that he would "swim in the Seine River" at some time.
Liu Yao (Source: People’s Daily Overseas Edition)