‘Games Wide Open’ revealed as slogan for 2024 Paris Olympics as president Emmanuel Macron seeks to calm concerns
- France’s reputation as a reliable host of sporting events took a major battering following the chaos that marred the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in Paris on May 28
- Organisers revealed ‘Ouvrons Grand Les Jeux’, meaning ‘Games Wide Open’, as the official slogan for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games
French President Emmanuel Macron met senior ministers on Monday to calm concerns that preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympics are beset by security and budget worries, almost two years to the day before the sporting extravaganza opens.
The Olympics should be a centrepiece of the freshly re-elected Macron’s second term, projecting an image of a France comfortable in its modern identity and open to the world.
But as the opening ceremony on July 26, 2024 draws closer, concerns have grown over costs and security preparations.
France’s reputation as a reliable host of sporting events took a major battering following the chaos that marred the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in Paris on May 28, which critics blamed on heavy-handed policing.
A particular subject of anxiety is the ambitious vision – in a typical Macron flourish – of an opening ceremony which will not take place as is customary in the athletics stadium, but as a flotilla down the River Seine.
The meeting at the Elysee Palace included key ministers such as Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera – as well as the head of the Paris organising committee, the three-time Olympic slalom canoe champion Tony Estanguet.
“We are two years to the day from the start of the Games. Now it’s really a race against the clock,” Macron said in an interview with L’Equipe sports daily published Tuesday.