French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday (July 23) confirmed in a TV interview with France 2 that the Paris Olympics opening ceremony would be held on the River Seine.
Doubts remained on weather the event could be held on the river on Friday (July 26) in a tense security context and a plan B had been drawn up.
Macron also said that though he profoundly disagrees with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister would be welcome to attend the ceremony in Paris if he wanted to.
He further welcomed singer Celine Dion’s presence in Paris, saying it would be ‘great’ to see the ‘huge artist’ attend the ceremony as well.
The Games start on July 26 with an opening ceremony that will see thousands of athletes and performers paraded along a 6-km (4-mile) stretch of the river.
(Reuters)