Paris Olympics 2024: Australian officials play down fears over terrorist and cybersecurity attacks

As organisers backtracked on a plan to allow 600,000 spectators to line the banks of the Seine for the Olympic opening ceremony, Australian officials weighed in on the threat of terrorist attacks.

Australian Olympic officials remain confident that competitors at this year’s Paris Games will be kept safe from any possible terrorist or cyber attacks despite drastic changes to the massive security operation.

French officials are also reassuring everyone they have everything under control even though they have just backtracked on their plans to let more than half a million tourists watch the Opening Ceremony place on the Seine.

Traditionally held inside of a stadium, the decision to hold the Opening Ceremony on a river has left security experts on edge, worried that spectators and competitors could be targeted by militant groups or lone wolves.

Originally, the French planned to allow up to 600,000 spectators, including foreign tourists, line the banks of the Seine, but they have now reduced the capacity to 220,000 selected individuals to reduce any risks.

Australian Olympic Team Chef de Mission Anna Meares speaks on Thursday.

The Australian team’s chef de mission, cycling legend Anna Meares, welcomed the additional measures, saying she had no doubts the Games would be properly protected.

“The security obviously is our highest priority when we’re planning and organising for our Australian team going to Paris,” she said.

“And we know that the French government and the Paris Organising Committee have taken on an enormous undertaking with the Olympics.

“It’s big but we know France and Paris have put on big events before, and they have done it successfully. And the planning is the continual moving puzzle piece in terms of security going forward to those games.”

French police down a protester on the Champs-Elysees during the Olympic torch relay in 2008.

Modern Olympic security has always resembled a military operation but Paris is on another scale.

At least 10,000 armed soldiers will be deployed to the French capital for the duration of the Games in July and August, supported by up to 35,000 more police and private security personnel.

Navy boats will patrol the seas and oceans while the airspace above France will be occupied by surveillance planes, fighter jets, helicopters carrying sharpshooters and specialised equipment to identify and disable any threatening drones.

Holding the Opening Ceremony on the Seine presents added security problems

Because it’s being held in open-air, the Opening Ceremony on July 26 is causing the biggest headaches to security chiefs but Meares said she loved the idea and hoped it would go ahead as planned.

“It’s a massive undertaking,” she said.

“It would be great if they could pull it off because of the spectacle that it will offer to the masses of people who love Olympic sport.

“The security element of that obviously is something to consider, so the fact that they’re making adjustments is actually really positive.”

One of the other concerns the Australian team faces is France’s stifling summer heat.

Paris went into meltdown last year when it was hit by a heatwave and Australian officials are taking no chances this time, spending more than $100,000 on airconditioning units to keep everyone cool if the temperature rises.

“It’s a massive logistical piece, but yes, we’re looking at portable air conditioners,” Meares said.

Originally published as Paris Olympics 2024: Australian officials play down fears over terrorist and cybersecurity attacks