Aussie athletes determined to attend Games opening ceremony despite security concerns

Australia’s chef de mission Anna Meares has declared it’s business as usual for the Olympic team arriving to Paris, with no concerns expressed from Aussie athletes despite major security issues.

Australian athletes are determined to attend the Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony on the Seine despite the “shocking” assassination attempt on former US president Donald Trump and this week’s crazed attack on a military officer at a Paris train station.

Australia’s chef de mission Anna Meares said she had not had any athletes express any concern about attending the opening ceremony because of security issues. Any athletes not wanting to attend were making that decision on performance basis, usually because they were competing the next day, she said.

At the moment about 80 Australian athletes as well as scores of officials have confirmed their participation in the opening on July 26.

Chef de mission Anna Meares says there’s been no security concerns from Australian athletes. Picture: Jacquelin Magnay

Ms Meares said team officials had been briefed by the Paris Organising committee about the attack at Gare de l’Est on Monday night but it had not impacted on any of the preparations at the Olympic village to welcome the first of 400 athletes who will check in on Thursday.

The first arrivals will be the hockeyroos, kookaburras, the mens rugby team and paddlers on Thursday after which numbers will quickly rise significantly.

“We became aware this morning of the security issue, an attack on an army officer at one of the stations,’’ Ms Meares said.

“We are going ahead as per normal in our plans, knowing security takes high priority and we have known, potentially, these things can happen.’’ French government officials revealed they had rejected applications from more than 3500 people wanting Olympic credentials on security including more than 120 on the terror watch list Fiche-S.

Ms Meares said the attempted assassination of Mr Trump was “quite shocking wasn’t it?”.

Amid the countdown to the Games there is also political upheaval in France with prime minister Gabriel Attal and his government planning to resign on Tuesday, but still ensuring a minimal functioning of the state following a fragmented and leaderless parliament voted in earlier this month.

All systems go!

The team behind the team is on the ground in Paris and has been hard at work getting ready for athlete arrivals in just a matter of hours.#AllezAUSpic.twitter.com/V9x9WeXLN5

— AUS Olympic Team (@AUSOlympicTeam) July 17, 2024

Ms Meares said there was a sense of excitement ahead of the athletes’ arrivals. “It has been a hive of activity, and we are excited to see plans on paper coming to fruition,” she said.

The Australians are being house in three of the blocks in the purpose built village which straddles three municipalities of Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen and L’Île-Saint-Denis. A fourth block is shared with Pacific neighbours such as Fiji and Samoa.

Officials have plastered large pictures of Australian scenes such as the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, the Australian flag, the indigenous flag and the boxing kangaroo onto the glass areas of the Australian precinct.

“I know I am biased but our Australian allotment is the prettiest and most decorated,’’ Ms Meares said.

Originally published as Aussie athletes determined to attend Games opening ceremony despite security concerns