Olympics 2024: Paris opening ceremony could be scaled back due to 'security concerns'

The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics 2024 could be scaled back amid fears over possible security concerns.

The famous opening procession of flags is set to take place on July 26 on the French capital's famous River Seine, the first time it will take place in a public space outside a stadium, but the number of spectators on the banks of the river has been scaled back due to fears over possible terror attacks. Around 104,000 people will be able to watch the procession on the waterfront, with an additional 222,000 people watching from city streets and bridges. Tickets, which had been made freely available to the public, are now invitation-only.

This is around half of the initial 600,000 that had been expected for the opening ceremony. French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin had previously given this number in October 2022, but confirmed on Tuesday that the amount of spectators had been vastly scaled back.

Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi told Sky News: "You can adapt according to the level of risk. So depending on the nature of the threat, of course this can be further reduced if need be… and it was addressing an underlying question, which is 'can we revert back to another location, say, a stadium somewhere?'

"You cannot plan for a Plan B. It's far too big, too sophisticated, too complex artistically to look at a Plan B in another location. Plan B is reducing, adjusting, but it is that location."

The adjustment reportedly came from French President Emmanuel Macron, who pushed for tighter security and crowd control due to the ceremony's place within public city spaces for the very first time. A source said that a specific threat had not been identified by the French intelligence services.

The unique ceremony had already had major security tightened around it, due to its location. A 150km radius of airspace around the ceremony will be closed, affecting nearby airports.