The Paris 2024 Olympic Games, among the debts and unfulfilled promises of the organization

Cost of tickets for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

The price of tickets, considered by many to be very high, does not match the promised popular Games, despite the fact that the organizers defend that the cost of the tickets is similar to that of London 2012.

To make the Games popular, a lottery was organized at the time in the hope of being one of the lucky few allowed to reserve a place. But the lucky few soon discovered that tickets to the various contests were selling at a bargain price. Attending a final event of an Olympic sport cost at least $564. The most popular disciplines, such as swimming and athletics, were in high demand. As a result, prices skyrocketed.

To put an end to the controversy, the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, announced the “Everyone for the Games” plan in May 2023. It was a plan for the free sale of tickets launched by the State and the authorities. locals, who have purchased 400,000 tickets, will then distribute them free of charge.

The president of LAME also denies time and time again that attending the Paris Olympic Games be expensive, stating that 10% of the tickets (around one million) have been sold at the promised price of $26.

Opening ceremony

Another aspect that calls into question the popularity of the event refers to the unprecedented inauguration ceremony scheduled on the Seine, but it has undergone important changes, especially in the number of viewers who will be able to see it live.

If at first the Paris City Hall He wanted a massive event, announcing an attendance of 600,000 people (with half a million free tickets), as the date approached and for security reasons, the number was reduced to 222,000 people, maintaining the 100,000 paid tickets.

And the philosophy has changed too. If at first it was thought that spectators who wanted to attend would sign up for a kind of raffle through a platform, now all attendees will be invited directly by public administrations and the organizing committee.

Contrary to the widespread idea among public opinion, there will be a large amount of private money that will finance the Games.

However, The slogan “The Games finance the Games” will not be fulfilled either. used by the French government for months.

The different French public administrations have already invested more than US$2,650 million in infrastructure, urban works, but also in the anti-doping laboratory, for example.

The amount of the final bill is unknown at the moment, which will have to include the cost related to security, the bonuses paid to officials, including police officers. “There will be no Games-tax,” reiterates President Emmanuel Macron, despite the fact that many expenses for the Games will come from public coffers.

The president of the Court of Accounts, Pierre Moscovici, recently estimated that the final public investment will be between “US$3,221 and US$5,369 million.” The answer will come after the event.

Transportation and Facilities

Although the candidacy dossier announced that “all ticket holders will be able to travel free of charge on all public transport in the Paris region on the day of that competition”, in the end this will not be the case.

In December 2022 it changed its mind to seek additional income following a budget review.

Several months later, the public transport operator of the Paris region announced special prices during the Games: US$4.3 for the minimum metro ticket! An increase of almost double compared to current prices that was tried to be justified with the fact that public transport traffic will increase by 15% during the event.

Cycling and walking are promoted as better alternatives. In recent years, Paris opened new bike paths, adding 55 miles to the 270 miles of existing routes. The city’s bike rental program, known as Velib, is adding 3,000 bikes to the 22,000 currently available.

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In recent years, Paris opened new bike paths, adding 55 miles to the 270 miles of existing routes. The city’s bike rental program, known as Velib, is adding 3,000 bikes to the 22,000 currently available.

X.com

As for car circulation, the authorities anticipate that it will be complicated, especially because there will be exclusive lanes for the Olympics (delegation, organization, accredited) on the already saturated Paris ring road.

Finally, an emblematic project for the Games: the renovation of the Montparnasse Tower. Announced with great fanfare in 2017, the renovation of this iconic 59-story tower will finally begin after the Games and will last four years.

One of the few sports facilities built expressly for the Games is the Olympic Aquatic Center (CAO) located in Saint Denis, next to the Stade de France. However, in this brand new complex the swimming events will not finally be held, since for budgetary reasons, the capacity was reduced to 5,000 spectators, a third of what the competition requires. International Federation (World Aquatics) to hold an international swimming competition.

Thus, in the CAO The water polo, artistic swimming and diving events will be held, while the pool stars will have to go to the other side of the capital, to La Défense Arena, which will host the races of one of the main sports of the Games.

Environmental impact

At first it was announced that the environmental impact of the Games would be “positive”, with the idea of ​​offsetting CO2 emissions, but the project was later scrapped.

Several experts had already criticized even the initial idea, for giving the misleading idea that the event would not have an environmental impact.

Now, the organization aims to reduce CO2 emissions by half, which are calculated as follows: one third are related to transportation, another third to the construction of infrastructure and the remaining third to activities directly linked to the Games (accommodation, security, restaurants, etc.).

The Moulin Rouge with new blades

Paris’s Moulin Rouge cabaret, whose iconic windmill blades collapsed onto the street in April, received new blades on Monday, 10 days before the Paris Olympic torch passes through the site.

The nightclub, one of the French capital’s most visited tourist attractions, plans to install the four new temporary blades one by one, in time for a special ceremony on July 5.

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The Moulin Rouge cabaret in Paris, whose iconic windmill blades collapsed onto the street in April, received new blades today, although they cannot be turned until after the Olympic Games.

Reuters

The aluminum and red steel blades arrived by truck early this morning at the Moulin Rouge, located in the Pigalle district of northern Paris, at the foot of the Montmartre hill.

The first blade was placed with the help of a crane, under the gaze of curious and pleased neighbors. Over the next four days, the other three blades will be raised to the façade before being fixed in their corresponding place, and then the electrical cables will be connected.

According to sources from the Moulin Rouge, sIt will take another four days to remove the tarp and scaffolding that covered the mill building since the blades crashed into the street during the night of April 25.

The first three letters on the cabaret facade — M, O and U — also fell off. No one was injured in the incident, the causes of which have not yet been clarified, although management ruled out malicious action.

The renowned cabaret remained open to the public despite the mishap.

The blades are only temporary and will not rotate, but they allow the emblematic place to look according to its image, during the Olympic Games.

“The Olympic torch must pass through the Moulin Rouge on July 15, so it is very important for us to be ready by then,” said Virginie Clerico, manager of the Moulin Rouge.

For the July 5 ceremony to celebrate the arrival of the new blades, the Moulin Rouge has promised an “outdoor sound and light show, with around twenty artists dancing the French cancan” in the street, he said.

He Moulin Rouge It opened its doors in 1889 and was initially a meeting place for artists and bohemians. The artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec immortalized its façade and its cabaret performances.

There was, therefore, a lot of optimism in the Paris 2024 bid when it was presented to the IOC. Although the competitions will take place at the original venues, promises regarding ticket sales and access to transport have not been fulfilled. However, authorities insist that this will not undermine the success of the Games in the French capital.