Anne Hidalgo is going to swim in the Seine this summer and she herself announced the date

undefined 14 mars 2024 undefined 15h50

The Editor

© Anne Hidalgo sur X

Interviewed this Wednesday by Reuters, Anne Hidalgo reiterated her desire to swim in the Seine. The mayor of Paris, particularly enthusiastic, even mentioned a date: mark your calendars for June 23, Olympic Day! 🏊‍♀️🌞

Get ready for a historic dive! In an interview with Reuters, Anne Hidalgo revealed the date of her first swim in the Seine - June 23rd. How fitting that it falls on such a symbolic day, just like the Olympics!### **The Olympic Day Paris 2024 Version** Celebrated worldwide since 1948, **Olympic Day** allows everyone to **try out Olympic sports in the presence of athletes**. With a strong **symbolic significance**, for example, **on June 23, 2015 Paris announced its bid** to host the [2024 Olympics](https://www.lebonbon.fr/paris/news/festivals-annules-jeux-olympiques/), with the outcome that everyone knows today. Since then, Olympic Day has grown, with **many events organized all over the capital**, although rarely as unique as the **Paris mayor swimming** in the [river that runs through it](https://www.lebonbon.fr/paris/news/jo-paris-2024-quais-seine-fermes-public-mois-juin/). Many political figures support the project, and have even confirmed their **participation in the swim**. ### **« The Seine belongs to everyone »** «**I am preparing for this moment that will be historic. I will not be alone.**» The president of the organizing committee of the 2024 Paris Olympics, **Tony Estanguet**, the **Paris firefighters**, members of the crew of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, but also «**[Parisian women, Parisian men, and athletes](https://)**», announced Anne Hidalgo. This big collective dive will be a signal that the Seine belongs to everyone. Will Emmanuel Macron join the event?For now, the question remains unanswered, even though the president of the Republic stated at the end of February that he too would swim in the Seine. His former Minister of Education subscribed to controversies, Amélie Oudéa-Castera, also emphasized the general excitement of the political class: "We will all be eager to dive into the Seine," she said on Thursday, March 14 on Franceinfo. A generalization that may be a bit hasty, maybe not for politicians, but certainly for athletes.


2 sporting events in the Seine, without a plan B 

So, the elected officials of Île-de-France will stop at nothing to take a dip in the Seine, while on the side of the athletes supposed to compete in their events (open water swimming; triathlon), the atmosphere is one of concern. At the beginning of August 2023, the dress rehearsal for the open water swimming event turned into a nightmare for the organizers, who were forced to cancel it due to water quality levels in the river significantly exceeding, after a very intense rainy episode. "The organizers insist on wanting the events to take place there," worried Brazilian swimmer Ana Marcela Cunha told AFP, calling for a plan B.

Oh no, what a mess! 🙈 It seems like the organizing committee didn't have a solid backup plan in case the weather decided to play tricks on us and affect the water quality. But fear not, Marc Guillaume, the prefect of the Île-de-France region, is determined to clean up the mess and make sure the events go on as planned. Let's keep our fingers crossed for a successful outcome! 🌟 #LetsDoThis 💪