Expert addresses security challenges ahead of Paris Summer Olympics

Newswise — A West Virginia University teaching associate professor who studies risk management at sporting events says authorities in France are facing a major security challenge with the planned July 26 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony in Paris, an event that will take place on a four-mile stretch of the Seine River.

Gary Lhotsky, teaching associate professor of sport management in the WVU College of Applied Human Sciences, has professional experience in athletic facility and event management, including hosting ACC and NCAA Championship events.

The Opening Ceremony will be the largest single event during the Paris Summer Olympics with more than 300,000 spectators, heads of state, officials and others expected to attend at a time when France, as a whole, is on a high security alert.

Quotes:

“Instead of athletes parading into a contained stadium, like we have seen in previous Olympics opening ceremonies, the start to the Paris Summer Olympics will have athletes sailing down the Seine River in boats as fans cheer from the shore. 

“Trying to safeguard and secure a river shoreline and any buildings and structures along the path for the Opening Ceremony will be much more of a challenge than securing a single stadium.  

“When we think of risk management and security, we so often just think of the proactive aspect of it. What are we doing to prevent incidences? However, you must also have the reactive aspect of risk management covered. What will we do if an incident does occur? 

“My other biggest security concern for the Summer Olympics would be the large stadiums that are going to be used for soccer and Stade de France, which will mainly host track and field, because of the size of those venues and the amount of people that will attend events at those venues.

“In a stadium setting, it is ideal to have a perimeter boundary — such as a fence — that is secured away from the stadium. Ideally, you would want all the security screening to happen away from the stadium at the exterior of whatever perimeter barrier has been set up, not at the gate directly into the stadium. However, many stadiums are standalone buildings that have open spaces for parking around them.

“What may make things more challenging is securing venues so close to other buildings. Many of the venues for the Paris Summer Olympics will be in the heart of the city, which means you are less likely to have open spaces where perimeter fencing can be set up to secure an area well outside and away for the venue.

“Also, those venues in the heart of the city are so near buildings that are used on a daily basis, so just being able to hold events at those ‘heart of Paris’ locations while daily city life is occurring will be a challenge.” — Gary Lhotsky, teaching associate professor, sport management, WVU College of Applied Human Sciences