A Seine-sational Start: Gearing Up for Paris 2024

It might be more Gallic grumpiness than sporting prowess that the Paris Olympics will be remembered for.

A Paris 2024 volunteer takes a picture on the Invalides bridge next to the tribunes set up on the Seine river on the eve of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony in Paris on July 25, 2024. Stephane De Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images

The XXXIII Olympiad in Paris, or the Summer Olympic Games, will kick off on Saturday, July 27, with a spectacle along the Seine—that glorious Parisian river.

Unfortunately, so far, only the valiant mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has dared to dip her toes in those murky waters, and the nation is still waiting for President Emmanuel Macron to squeeze into his swimsuit.