The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris will get going late this summer as 10,000 athletes take to France to compete on the world’s grandest of stages.
Typically, the Olympics are known for some crazy stories and amazing performances. We’re already getting a first-hand understanding of that with the Opening Ceremony slated for July 26 from the Seine River.
Unlike other iterations of the Summer Olympics, countries and athletes will be introduced via arrivals on boats down the river. We’re talking 10,000 athletes and north of 200 countries representing Planet Earth.
About that? It could be a toxic environment. Literally.
According to The Washington Post, there is some major concern about the quality of the water. A conservation group known as The Surfrider Foundation has exhausted the past several months examining the river water. In turn, they have found “alarming levels” of E.coli and enterococci. They are two forms of bacteria linked to actual fecal matter. Yes, number two.
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2024 Summer Olympics May Have To Abandon Seine River ceremony, events
“The Seine, which winds through Paris, is not historically seen as an appealing place to swim. Entering the water has been banned for a century because of health concerns, including sewage,” The Post reported in its article.
In addition to the Opening Ceremony, events are planned in which athletes actually take to the water in the river. That includes the 10-kilometer swimming marathon as well as the swimming leg of the triathlon.
As for officials in France, they are not necessarily concerned over this report. They indicate that the water will be swimmable for the Summer Olympics due to a $1.5 billion plan to clean up the river. Key elements of said plan are slated to be rolled out later in April and in May.
Cleaning up the Seine River was apparently a key point brought up by leaders in Paris as they made a bid to host the games.
Whether these efforts will be enough remains to be seen. Back in August, the Open Water Swimming World Cup was canceled due to low water quality. Two of the four days of Olympic test events were also canceled this past fall for the same reason.
Insert Mr. Hankey joke here.