PARIS (Reuters) – Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo’s dip in the Seine ahead of the Olympics will likely happen on June 30, her office said on Friday. Hidalgo had said she would swim in the Seine ahead of the Olympics, with June 23 or 30 as likely dates. “The mayor said the swim would be on […]
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Olympics-Paris mayor’s dip in the Seine likely to happen on June 30
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PARIS (Reuters) – Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo’s dip in the Seine ahead of the Olympics will likely happen on June 30, her office said on Friday.
Hidalgo had said she would swim in the Seine ahead of the Olympics, with June 23 or 30 as likely dates.
“The mayor said the swim would be on June 23 or 30 depending on the weather and the state of the river. It is probable that it will be on June 30,” a spokesperson told Reuters.
Heavy rain in the past weeks has increased the flow of the river, also forcing the French open swimming team to reschedule a planned training event that was due to take place on Monday.
Paris has been working on cleaning up the Seine so that people can swim in it again, as was the case during the 1900 Paris Olympics. But a sewer problem last summer led to the cancellation of a pre-Olympics swimming event.
Last month, the city officially unveiled a storage basin capable of holding 46,000 cubic metres of waste water to significantly reduce the risks of pollution in the Seine, where open swimming and triathlon events will be held during the Paris 2024 Games.
The city will disclose the first results of the water quality tests next week.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)