Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony Attendance Lowered to 300,000 Amid Security Measures

About half as many people as first anticipated, or 300,000, will be able to see the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, according to France's interior minister Gerald Darmanin on Wednesday.

The opening ceremony will take place outside of a typical stadium setting for the first time on July 26th, during the massive display on the Seine River.

Along with a large-scale security operation, tens of thousands of military and police officers will be sent in.

The competitors will be paraded over a 6km route on boats on the Seine through the center of the French city. There will be crowds along both riverbanks, behind many security cordons.

Speaking on France 2, Darmanin said that the present schedule calls for more than 220,000 free tickets to be given to individuals on the higher embankments of the river, and 100,000 paying viewers with a view of the water.

The ceremony's organizers had projected that 600,000 people would attend; however, Darmanin did not provide an explanation for their lowered estimates.

When asked whether the event was keeping him up at night, Darmanin said he was sleeping well.

He said, "I'm confident that we have the best security forces in the world and that we can demonstrate to the world that France is capable of taking home medals and, most importantly, hosting the world championship without any issues."

The event may be rescheduled for security concerns, according to French President Emmanuel Macron's December announcement, should France fall victim to terrorist acts once again in the lead-up. He used the 2015 fatal Islamist attacks in Paris as an illustration of the kind of serious situation that would need reconsideration.

Translation tools

Over 3,000 agents equipped with AI-powered translation devices will be on hand to assist hundreds of thousands of tourists in navigating Paris' public transportation system (RATP) during the Olympics.

The material appears on a screen and is read aloud using the portable Tradivia gadget, which can translate between French and 16 other languages, including Mandarin, Arabic, and Korean.

After the Olympics from July 26 to August 11, the service will continue.

"We'll have guests coming from all around the globe... Giving them the correct information is crucial, RATP spokesperson Gregoire de Lasteyrie told reporters.

It's crucial to be able to communicate with them in as many languages as you can while also assisting them in navigating Paris.

Employees at Metro said the gadget will boost their self-assurance.

Paris metro employee Raphael Gassette said, "We no longer have this apprehension, this apprehension of approaching visitors."

"We no longer worry that we won't be able to communicate with one another."