Olympics chief cancels press conference minutes before start 'with no explanation'

The organizers of the Paris Olympics have cancelled a press conference on the day of the Opening Ceremony for the Games - just 20 minutes before it was due to start.

The gathering had been slated for the morning of July 26, with the masterminds behind the spectacle due to greet the world's media to discuss the plans for the River Seine performance. The festivities will be the first time that the ceremony has not been hosted inside a stadium.

The show will involve some 94 athletes on 160 boats, who are expected to sail 6km down the world-famous river that cuts through the heart of the French capital . No official reason has been provided for the cancellation of the presser, with Mail Sport claiming that two technical directors were summoned for some "fine tuning" in relation to the ceremony.

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Taking to Twitter/X, the Sky News correspondent Rob Harris provided an update on the situation after the cancellation, as he posted: "#Paris2024 chief suddenly cancels news conference discussing opening ceremony plans - less than 20 minutes before it was due it begin with no explanation."

This follows a separate incident of disruption in the lead up to tonight's spectacle, with a significant arson assault having taken place on the host nation's railway system. As a result, travel disturbances are expected across the country, with some 800,000 people forecast to be affected.

With these disturbances set to "last at least the whole weekend", it remains to be seen how severe the impact will be on the rest of the network as the Olympics kick off in due course. An official previously disclosed: "Numerous stations are affected, including Garde du Nord, with services across France cancelled or delayed."

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A statement from SNCF, the French rail network, read: "Last night, the SNCF was victim of several acts of vandalism on the Atlantic, Northern and Eastern high-speed lines. Fires were deliberately set to damage our installations."

Eurostar added: "Due to coordinated acts of malice in France, affecting the high speed line between Paris and Lille, all high speed trains going to and coming from Paris are being diverted via the classic line today Friday 26 July. This extends the journey time by around an hour and a half. Several trains have been cancelled."

French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera told BFMTV: "It’s completely appalling. To target the games is to target France. These Games are for the athletes who have been dreaming of them for years and fighting for the holy grail of standing on the podium – and someone’s sabotaging that for them."