The long-awaited Paris Olympics continues to upset with yet another embarrassment. Despite the huge amount of resources spent during preparations for the large-scale sporting event, thousands of people are threatening not to watch the Olympics as the slogan “Boycott the Olympics” has emerged around the world after the opening ceremony in Paris 2024 was marred by a giant scandal.
Paris cancelled a triathlete’s training session for the second day in a row
The second consecutive training swim for triathletes at the 2024 Olympics has been cancelled due to poor water quality in the Seine.
The first training swim was due to take place on the morning of July 28 and the second one on the 29th. According to the organising committee, the water quality has deteriorated due to heavy rains. Triathlon competitions are scheduled for July 30 and 31.
Earlier in July, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a swim in the Seine to prove that the capital’s river is safe for competitions. Hidalgo was in a short wetsuit and without a cap, she lowered herself into the water from a special pontoon. Before that, the area of the swim site was surveyed, two bicycles and a scooter were pulled from the bottom.
According to local media, the organisers hope that the water condition will return to normal before the competition. However, in the mayor’s office of Paris allowed that the competition may be postponed to reserve dates and even combine two days into one. Earlier it was reported that Paris spent €1.4bn on cleaning the Seine. Macron claimed that the river was safe, but never bathed in it before the start of the Olympics.
Organisers of the Games mixed up the anthem of the South Sudanese team
The debut of South Sudan’s basketball team at the Olympics started with a scandal. Before the debut match of the national team for 20 seconds switched on the anthem of Sudan, from which South Sudan gained independence in 2011. The players continued to stand with their hands clasped to their hearts and drew applause from both fans and opponents – players from the Puerto Rico national team.
Three minutes later, the correct audio track was played to the applause of the fans. At the end of the match, South Sudan won with a score of 90-79. In addition, the organisers made a number of technical errors: the Olympic flag was hung upside down at the opening ceremony and the South Korean team was announced as North Korea at the athletes’ parade in Paris.
WADA hid samples of the Ukrainian Olympic team
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation, after an investigation, all samples of Ukrainian athletes taken before the Olympics have disappeared from both the storage facility and from the general database of WADA.
“Doping was found in the samples,” the BBC believes.
IOC removed video of snippets of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics
The International Olympic Committee has removed a video with key fragments of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
The opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Paris on July 26 caused a lot of negative reactions both among spectators and in the sports community. The event included an LGBT parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s work “The Last Supper,” which depicts the last meal of Jesus Christ before his crucifixion. During the performance, the apostles were portrayed by drag performers.
Greek portal pronews.gr called the Last Supper parody a collapse of civilisation and Christian culture in Western Europe. The French bishopric also condemned the ceremony, saying the show contained scenes of mockery and ridicule of Christianity.
Obscene toilets at the Olympics
Organisers of the sporting event installed street toilets with “revealing” designs for fans. The main complaint from fans is that these toilets only partially conceal the person inside.
Videos of the toilets at the Paris Olympics have gone viral on social media.
France’s interior minister got a “plague letter”
The strange appearance of the parcel prompted staff at the sorting centre to call the police. On the back of the parcel were racial and other insults against Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, Le Figaro reports.
Upon inspection, the police found black powder in the parcel. The powder was tested by the police’s nuclear, radiological, biological, chemical and explosives unit.
The powder eventually tested positive for plague, a potentially very dangerous disease. New analyses conducted by the Pasteur Institute are underway. The results will be known this Monday.
Qatari Emir’s daughter-in-law was robbed in France: 11 Hermès handbags stolen
The daughter-in-law of Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani had her personal luggage, containing 11 Hermès bags, stolen aboard a high-speed train from Nice to Paris on her way to the Olympics, Le Parisien reports.
Accompanied by her domestic servant, the daughter-in-law of the Emir of Qatar boarded the high-speed train at Cannes station this Saturday, July 27. The train, travelling from Nice, was due to reach Paris’ Gare de Lyon. Between 12:00 and 01:40 p.m., she noticed that 11 bags of luxury brand Hermès had been stolen.
According to the French publication, an investigation has been launched into the incident. Currently, the bags and those who stole them have not been found.
First lady Jill Biden praises Paris Olympics opening ceremony
While Olympic organisers are panicking as the blasphemy row grows, US First Lady Jill Biden is overwhelmed by the Olympics opening show in Paris. And she has no idea how it could ever be surpassed. She said in a statement:
“So, last night, it was just spectacular. The rain did not dampen our spirits…. Every step of the way, I was thinking to myself, oh my god, oh my god. How are we going to top this?”
