By Victor Kanayo
Athletes, officials and others meant to carry out various responsibilities are already trickling into Paris, France, as the 2024 Olympic Games formally kicks off July 26.
Ahead of the anticipated opening ceremony, President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that France was ready to host the Paris Olympics.
This was after he visited the Athletes’ Village four days before the Games begin.
Speaking thereafter, Macron said, “We are ready and we will be ready throughout the Games.
“We have been working on these Games for years now and we are at the start of a decisive week which on Friday will see the opening ceremony and then the Olympiad which will be held in Paris, 100 years since the last one.
“This is the fruit of an immense amount of work which has profoundly changed the country, in particular the area” of Seine-Saint-Denis, where the Athletes’ Village is situated.”
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach also visited the Village to the north of the French capital, where thousands of athletes and officials are arriving, with up to 14,500 expected there at the peak of the Games.
Comprising 40 different low-rise housing blocks, the complex has been built by employing innovative construction techniques using low-carbon concrete, water recycling and reclaimed building materials.
It was also intended to be free of air-conditioning with a natural cooling system, but some Olympic delegations are unconvinced and have ordered around 2,500 portable cooling units for their athletes.
Seine-Saint-Denis, where the main athletics stadium for the Olympics is also situated, is the poorest area in France and is hoping to reap benefits from the sports extravaganza.
Macron promised the area would not be forgotten after the Olympics.
“I will come back after the Games to see the legacy with you and to see how life has changed,” he said.
Football event will kick off earlier before the official opening day of the Olympics with Nigeria taking on Brazil on Thursday in their first match.
