Roland Garros in Race to Finish Paris 2024 Makeover 

French Open Preview - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 17, 2022 General view of outside courts ahead of the French Open. (Reuters)
French Open Preview - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 17, 2022 General view of outside courts ahead of the French Open. (Reuters)
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Roland Garros in Race to Finish Paris 2024 Makeover 

French Open Preview - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 17, 2022 General view of outside courts ahead of the French Open. (Reuters)
French Open Preview - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 17, 2022 General view of outside courts ahead of the French Open. (Reuters)

As the sun set on the French Open and Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrated Sunday's triumph a new race got underway at Roland Garros to transform the iconic red clay courts into dazzling Olympic venues in a matter of weeks.

Chosen back in 2016 to be one of the 41 sites for the Paris 2024 Olympics, Roland Garros now faces the exacting task of complying with the meticulous standards set by the International Olympic Committee and Paris 2024 organizers.

The clock is ticking, with six weeks to turn the Grand Slam tennis site into a stage worthy of the world’s biggest sporting extravaganza.

The transition will require a "clean venue," where all distinctive Roland Garros marks are hidden and replaced by the Olympic rings and the host city’s logo.

Christophe Fagniez, deputy director general of the French Tennis Federation overseeing the Olympics project, describes the transformation as a blend of "camouflage and exhibition."

By July 20, when athletes start training, Roland Garros will be awash in the vibrant colors of the Olympic Games.

First, the tournament team must dismantle food stands, entertainment corners and anything branded with Roland Garros that can be removed.

The Olympic makeover will ramp up until mid-July. After that, a comprehensive security check will pave the way for the arrival of the athletes.

While the six-week timeline is more generous than the three weeks allotted for the transformation of Wimbledon for the London 2012 Games, the challenge remains immense.

"We have very, very little time to do it," Fagniez said. "Roland Garros spans 12 hectares with 12 courts. Other venues might have a single field of play, maybe two or three, but we have 12."

Inside the courts, over 250 items need replacing, from the umpires' chairs to the LED advertisements, which will be swapped out for tarpaulins sporting the Olympics look.

Despite the extensive makeover, some familiar elements will remain. The statue of 14-times champion Rafael Nadal will stay, a comforting sight for fans, though the Spaniard's participation at the Games is uncertain after his early French Open exit.

Even as the Philippe-Chatrier Court adopts its Olympic colors, its distinctive moucharaby wall bearing the name of Roland Garros will remain visible. The iconic "RG" logo will also stay on the thousands of seats across the courts.

"It’s a stadium with great historical and sporting power, so we couldn’t erase everything," Fagniez explains.

After the tennis tournament, the main Philippe-Chatrier Court will undergo yet another transformation to host the Olympic boxing finals over five evenings, marking the end of an extraordinary summer for this storied venue.



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.