France is preparing to welcome over a hundred heads of state and government for the Summer Olympics which begin with a dazzling ceremony on the river Seine this Friday, with one notable absence – Russia.
VIPs are arriving in the city of light for the long-awaited gala opening of the 2024 Paris Games, but Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, is not be among them.
No Russian official representing Putin's government has been invited either.
Russia – a long time Summer Olympics powerhouse – has been banned from the Paris Games in response to Putin's war against Ukraine, now in its third year, although a tiny squad of neutral athletes will represent the country.
Ukraine has yet to announce whether President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the three-hour ceremony.
Speaking on Wednesday, Zelensky said that the very fact that Ukraine was participating in the Games was an accomplishment in wartime and added that the athletes' presence in Paris would help people back home maintain "normal lives".
Ukraine is fielding a team of about 140 athletes, the smallest contingent it has sent to the Olympic Games in post-Soviet times.
Ukraine has lobbied hard, since the Russian invasion of February 2022, to ensure athletes from Russia and its closest ally Belarus were barred from taking part in the Games.
UK and US presence
The new British prime minister, Keir Starmer, who is keen to strengthen ties with France, will be in the stands overlooking the Seine to watch the spectacular river parade.
Paris 2024 "is a big event for France but also for the UK," said Menna Rawlings, the British ambassador to France, adding that around 500,000 tickets had been sold in the UK.
Samuel Ducroquet, France's ambassador for Sports has declared: "We are ready to welcome the world".
Other European leaders expected to attend include German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italy's president Sergio Mattarella, Finland's Alexander Stubb, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
US President Joe Biden – who has announced he is dropping his re-election bid and is recovering from Covid – will not fly to Paris, but US First Lady Jill Biden, will attend.
The closing ceremony will be attended by Douglas Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now in the running for the White House.
Israeli and Arab delegations
Israeli President Isaac Herzog will attend the ceremony, under heavy protection, despite protests from Tehran, which on Tuesday called to ban Israel from the Olympics because of the unrelenting bombardment of Gaza since the 7 October Hamas attacks.
The head of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, Jibril Rajoub, will represent Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – popularly known as MBS – and Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan have kept their plans under wraps.
But the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, a member of the International Olympic Committee, was spotted in Paris at the traditional pre-Games session.
Global representation
Chinese President Xi Jinping will be represented by Vice President Han Zheng and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has entrusted his wife Rosangela with representing the nation.
Argentina's leader Javier Milei and Colombia's Gustavo Petro have confirmed they will attend on Friday.
However, the participation of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is uncertain, as is that of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Regarding royalty, Britain's Princess Anne, sister of King Charles III, and Prince Albert of Monaco arrived on Monday to attend the IOC meeting – both are IOC members.
Meanwhile, the King of Spain Felipe VI is also expected, while Denmark will be represented by King Frederik X and Queen Mary, as well as Princess Benedikte, the sovereign's octogenarian aunt.
African leaders
Brice Oligui Nguema of Gabon and Faustin Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic will both be present, but the attendance of Cameroonian leader Paul Biya has not been officially confirmed.
The new Senegalese president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, will be also there but South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa will not.
The opening ceremony coincides with the first anniversary of a coup that ousted Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum, and the country will be represented by sports ministry official Abdoulaye Mohamadou.
While wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and other places continue, the Games provide an opportunity for intense diplomatic activity.
On Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to call on nations to "lay down their arms", and President Macron has also called for "an Olympic truce".
(with AFP)
