The opening ceremony for the 2024 Olympics in Paris is designed to be a major spectacle on July 26. Yet issues have plagued the games before they’ve even begun. Just hours before the opening ceremony, arsonists attacked France’s high-speed rail network and disrupted travel to Paris from around Europe for 800,000 people — fans and athletes alike.
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Arson, Robberies, and Chaotic Soccer Matches Mark the Start of the 2024 Paris Olympics
According to PBS, French officials say the attacks don’t appear to have a direct link to to the Olympics, though the investigation is still in its early stages. One traveler who was delayed perhaps put it best to PBS: “It’s a hell of a way to start the Olympics.”
Two of the four trains with athletes heading to Paris on the Atlantique high-speed line were delayed by the arson attacks hours ahead of the opening, and two German athletes were forced to turn back in Belgium. Thankfully there were no injuries.
The centerpiece of the opening ceremonies is on the Seine River, which has undergone an expensive cleaning procedure to be safe for swimming. Some residents staged a “poop protest” to dirty the waters, though the Paris mayor made a swim to show it’s safe. It was a sign of some of the tensions before competitions begin.
A 40-year-old Russian chef was arrested for espionage in Paris on July 21 due to a “large scale” destabilization plot, according to The Guardian. Australia’s Olympic broadcast team was robbed of their gear. A staff member of the Canadian women’s soccer team, which won gold at the last games, was caught flying a drone over the New Zealand team’s practice field while they were playing — and the Canadian head coach was suspended, leaving an assistant coach to lead through the games. Chaos in an opening game between Argentina and Morocco led to hours of delay, confusion over who won, and the entire crowd being escorted out of the stadium by riot police.
With a rocky start, one can only hope things get smoother from here.