“We want the Paris Olympic Games to be accessible and popular”

Less than a month after the opening of the second phase of ticket sales for Paris 2024 Olympic Games which will begin on May 11, Tony Estanguet, president of the organizing committee of Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024 and triple Olympic medalist, gave an interview to EFE in which he not only addressed the controversial participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the sporting event, a matter for the IOC to decide.

The legendary French canoeist, 44, also talks about the challenge of organizing the opening ceremony on the Seine River in Paris; France’s tarnished image over security breaches at the 2022 Champions League final; notices from the Court of Accounts; and ticket prices.

The first phase of ticket sales, launched in March, was a success, with 3.25 million (one third of the total to be sold). How does this second one that starts on May 11 work?

Everyone has until April 20 to register on the platform (www.tickets.paris2024.org) and thus enjoy the second phase of the sale. The first one was very successful, more than three million tickets (sold) in a few weeks, and now we will put tickets on sale again for all sports.

In the first stage there were criticisms and complaints about the prices.

It is important to understand that there are two goals. The first is that they are accessible to everyone, and that is why we have very affordable fares: 1 million tickets at 24 euros, 4 million tickets at 50 euros and less. And we have a second objective, to balance the budget. So there are also fees that can rise to a very high price because it is important that the Organizing Committee is 96% funded by private money. In general, the rates are the same as in the last games, if you take inflation into account.

There will be an unprecedented opening ceremony in the middle of the Seine River. What are the main challenges?

We want amazing games, so the ceremony has to be amazing. We want them to be popular, which means there should be more people. The fact of having the ceremony in the city increases the number of spectators, who will have the possibility, and for the first time, some for free, to attend the ceremony. We will also use a decoration that already exists, which is the center of Paris: Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Orsay Museum, the Eiffel Tower, Trocadero, the most beautiful bridge in Paris, the Grand Palais.

How much security will be deployed on July 26, 2024?

We are not talking about security, there will be the number of agents required to guarantee security.

The image of France has been damaged by the security problems of the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in May 2022 played exactly in Saint-Denis, does that put more pressure on you, the organization?

That match that everyone is talking about was somewhat fixed at the last moment: it was not held in France, but in Russia and, because of the war, it changed location, so it was somewhat organized at the last moment. Paris 2024 continues three years, soon to be four, of work and study on Games security.

Did the wave of strikes in protest in France against the pension reform affect the rhythm of the works of the Olympic Games?

There is no impact, despite the Covid, despite the strikes, there is no impact on the preparation and construction of infrastructure.

The Court of Auditors published a report in January that raised doubts about the progress of the Budget (updated to 4,400 million euros at the end of 2022 due to the weight of inflation).

It is important to highlight that, so far, no errors have been found and the decisions adopted respect the ethical and good governance framework, and this is highlighted in the report. What the Court is talking about in that report is future risks.

Although that decision rests with the IOC, I have to ask you whether you are for or against the participation of Russians and Belarusians in the Olympic Games.

I, in a personal capacity, and I have said this publicly, believe in the power of sport, that in general, I believe that sport has the power to unite, where cultures from all over the world coexist, in the Olympic village, In the stadiums, where politics is not discussed, I am in favor of that, keeping the neutral part of the sport, I think we need it, but I will not be the one to decide on the delegations that will come. My role is not to give an opinion on what is decided, it is to guarantee more than 200 countries, depending on whether the Russians are coming or not, that they are well received and the security is up to par.