Paris Olympic Opening Ceremony Threatened By Speed of Seine River

By Riley Overend on SwimSwam

As Paris Olympic organizers scramble to ensure the cleanliness of the Seine River ahead of the start of the Summer Games later this month, they are faced with another challenge related to the famous waterway: fast flow speeds at the opening ceremony.

The Seine was measured on Wednesday at 500 cubic meters per second, above the maximum acceptable flow of 450 cubic m/s set by the French Ministry of Sport. Rainy weather last month led to flow rates at over 670 cubic m/s, forcing the postponement of an opening ceremony rehearsal from June 24 to July 16. The normal flow rate is around 100 to 150 cubic m/s in the summertime.

Thierry Reboul, Paris 2024’s director of ceremonies, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the current conditions “pose problems for boat speed and maneuverability.”

“What we need to avoid is [the Seine] going above 500 cubic m/s, [because] boats are no longer going at 9 km/h but at 12 km/h,” Reboul said.

If the flow rate is between 300 and 500 cubic m/s, the Paris Olympic opening ceremony on July 26 will have to be adapted, with tall boats likely the first to be removed from the parade between the Austerlitz and Iena bridges. The event is expected to draw more than 200,000 spectators in stands along the banks of the Seine.

Meanwhile, pollution levels in the Seine continue to improve, but they are far from perfect despite a $1.5 billion cleanup effort. Paris city hall said that the water qualify met the required standard in most of the past 12 days — “11 days of 10 days,” according to Pierre Rabadan. Earlier this month, test results revealed E. coli bacteria to be below the allowable limits on six of the nine days between June 24 and July 2.

French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera took a dip in the Seine on Saturday along with para triathlete Alexis Hanquinquant. Check out how fast the river is flowing in the river below:

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo was supposed to swim in the river last month, but she postponed her swim to July 17. French president Emmanuel Macron also committed to take a dip in the Seine. Swimming in the river has been banned for over a century since 1923, but it is slated to reopen to the public at certain sites beginning in 2025.

The forecast is mostly dry for the next two weeks leading up to the Paris Olympic opening ceremony. The swimming leg of the triathlon is set for July 30-31 in the Seine while open water swimming is slated to take place from August 8-9.

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