The show that will close the French Olympic Games is scheduled for this Sunday, August 11, at the Stade de France.
After taking out their umbrellas at the start of the Olympics, spectators and performers at the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Games should bring light clothing and something to hydrate: a heat wave is expected across France this weekend, and the Paris region it won't be. spared.
“This time we're sure it won't rain, the closing ceremony will be dry but under intense heat,” Meteo Consult meteorologist Cyril Bonnefoy told AFP on Friday, August 9, The Weather Channel morning.
Paris and Ile-de-France risk being placed on heatwave alert on Sunday. At 9pm, the show's start time, it will still be 31 degrees and after that the mercury will not drop below 28 degrees, warns Mr Bonnefoy.
“This is well above normal as this season and for this time slot, we are normally at 23 degrees,” explains the forecaster. Unlike the opening ceremony which took place mainly on the Seine and depended heavily on external conditions for its success, the closing show will take place in a more classic format at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis (Seine- Saint-Denis).
The sports venue has a floating roof, which, without covering the entire stadium or stands, helps to protect certain spectators from the rain but also from the sun's rays. A small disadvantage, however, is that this semi-closed structure partially prevents the air from circulating well, limiting the possibilities of refreshing the organisms a little.
“It could be very difficult inside the enclosure, which will create a feeling of discomfort for the spectators”, who must plan to hydrate well, “for the athletes who will parade but especially for those who will perform during the show”, he said Mr. . Bonnefoy.
Unlike the opening ceremony, where the forecasts changed a lot and finally called for rain only on Friday morning due to a particularly moving disturbance, this time there was not much risk of a last-minute reversal: ” at 48 hours, we have a reliability. of 95%, the remaining 5% is only on the intensity of the heat phenomenon and the exact level of the temperature”, indicates the Weather Channel.
And “neither scenario predicts rain,” assures Mr. Bonnefoy. As for the risk of storms on Sunday evening, that too is ruled out, with those not expected until Monday evening, after an even warmer day, when temperatures will climb to 37/38 degrees in Paris and the inner suburbs. “But the Olympics will slip,” concludes Cyril Bonnefoy.