Global computer glitch disrupts athletes' arrival in Paris. GETTY IMAGES


The global computer glitch that hit airlines, banks and major companies on Friday could not have come at a worse time for the organisation of a Games: the days when athletes are arriving in the Olympic Village ahead of next week's opening ceremony.

The outage, which followed a crash caused by an update to Microsoft's anti-virus software, came at a time when the Olympic Games are struggling to cope with a crucial moment such as the arrival of athletes in Paris, an event of this scale that involves a registration and accreditation process that necessarily relies on computerised records.



All our servers were affected this morning," Tony Estanguet, head of the organisation, told the media in Paris on Friday. He explained that the outage prevented the delivery of accreditations not only to athletes but also to officials arriving in the city.

Thousands of flights are arriving in Paris these days for accreditation, as well as issuing badges and uniforms to 45,000 volunteers. Operations were back to normal by 17:00 (15:00 GMT), but extra hours had to be worked late into the evening to deal with the backlog of accreditations.



On the plus side, the IT problems did not affect ADP, the Paris airport operator, but the interconnected nature of thousands of global flights that had to land in the heart of Europe meant that the arrival of some delegations was affected by flight delays.




Preparations include IT coordination

We are one week away from the Opening Ceremony, which is already ambitious in itself with the unprecedented fact that, for the first time in the history of the Games, the gala will be held outside the Olympic Village, in venues such as the iconic River Seine.

The venues are ready, the weather has improved and the rain has improved the quality of the water in the Paris river to allow the planned swimming events to take place.

But for an event like this, the preparations go beyond sports to include security: there are fences and restricted areas, and the police and military, with reinforcements from other countries, are patrolling different parts of the city and investigating terrorist risks - to the point that restaurants and hotels complained on Friday that these measures were putting off visitors and causing a drop in sales - while Paris is also taking measures to improve traffic safety.

Security is now a concept that goes beyond the purely physical and makes IT security a key issue, an aspect for which Paris has been preparing for months, both in terms of network security and the prevention of attacks.


Love is in the river

Security will be a key theme at the opening ceremony. Estanguet himself attended an event with the creative team behind the ambitious opening ceremony, which will take place on a six-kilometre stretch of the Seine next Friday.

The River Seine will play host to the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games. GETTY IMAGES
The River Seine will play host to the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games. GETTY IMAGES

Here are some details of the event: between 6,000 and 7,000 athletes will navigate the river in 85 barges and boats, and some 3,000 dancers, singers and entertainers will line the banks, bridges and nearby monuments. Up to 500,000 people will be able to watch from the grandstands, riverbanks and terraces.

The theme of the gala will allude to Paris' status as the 'city of love', so the performances will focus on celebrating diversity in the face of divisions - a theme that has not gone unchallenged by conservatives: 'We want to say that we all live together in the same city, the same country, the same continents and the same planet,' said the ceremony's artistic director, Thomas Jolly, a 42-year-old well-known theatre director.