Eiffel Tower Area Evacuated Hours Before Closing Ceremony of Olympics 2024

• By Thetripurapost Desk, Paris
• Aug 11, 2024
• 470

French police on Sunday evacuated the area around the Eiffel Tower after a man was seen climbing the Paris landmark just hours before the Olympics closing ceremony.

The shirtless man was seen climbing the 330-metre (1,083-foot) tall tower in the afternoon. 

It is unclear where he began his climb, but he was seen just above the first viewing deck, just above the Olympic rings that decorate the second part of the monument.

Police cleared visitors out of the area around 3 p.m. Some visitors who were briefly locked in the second floor were allowed out about 30 minutes later.
 

The Eiffel Tower was a highlight of the opening ceremony, in which Celine Dion sang to the city from one of its viewing areas. The tower is not expected to be part of the closing ceremony, scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. at the Stade de France in the northern suburb of Saint-Denis. The incident came as Olympic competition was winding down and security services in Paris and beyond were turning their attention to the closing ceremony, which will conclude the Games. More than 30,000 police officers were deployed around Paris on Sunday.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said about 3,000 police officers would be deployed around the Stade de France, and 20,000 police soldiers and other security personnel would be deployed in the Paris and Saint-Denis area until late Sunday to ensure security on the final day of the Olympics