The Opening Ceremony Of The 2024 Paris Olympics Will Be Guarded By Extra Strict 45 Thousand Police

ILLUSTRATION/PHOTO via Instagram @olympics

PARIS - About 45,000 police will secure the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on July 26, with more than 100 heads of state and government coming.

French authorities say no changes were planned after the weekend shooting of Donald Trump.

The ceremony, which is held for the first time outside the stadium, will involve about 80 boats carrying international athletes via a six km (3.7 miles) route along the Seine River to the Eiffel Tower, Lambis official Konstantinidis said.

Athletes and players will sail past some of the most amazing landmarks in the French capital. However, with more than 300,000 spectators expected to see it, it is also a big security issue, especially during the war in Gaza and Ukraine.

"The route is six km long, so the perimeter is very large to monitor. That's why we need a lot of security officers," said Konstantinidis, head of the Olympics planning and coordination.

Our security plan is very dynamic. They always consider the latest events and try to adapt," he said while visiting the Olympic security headquarters.

The assassination attempt against former US president Trump in the election campaign in Pennsylvania last Saturday did not change the Olympic security plan, said Konstantinidis.

"We have very close cooperation with the US security department and the secret service. So we also share whatever information we have," said Konstantinidis.

"We are very confident that we have the same thoughts but we do not need to change our plans as a result of the unfortunate incident," he added.

More than 100 people will work around the clock at the Olympic security headquarters in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, he said.

Foreign conflicts and domestic security concerns led the French government earlier this year to increase its security vigilance to the highest level.

A man was arrested in May in the French city of Saint-Etienne on suspicion of planning an attack on behalf of ISIS at the city's football stadium during the Olympics.