Olympia Compact - Macron rumors speak of Celine Dion's appearance at the opening ceremony
France in the Olympics Fever: The Summer Games in Paris begin on a Friday with a gigantic Opening Ceremony. Until August 11th, athletes from all over the world will compete for Gold, Silver, and Bronze. German athletes also have medal hopes. The competitions are under massive security measures: 250,000 security forces are in total in action, over 40,000 security forces will be in action for the Opening Ceremony alone.
Find all Olympics news here compactly at stern:
24th July: Macron hopes for Celine Dion performance at Opening Ceremony
French President Emmanuel Macron wishes for singer Celine Dion as a star guest at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games on Friday in Paris. It would be "an excellent news", if the Canadian singer were to appear at the grand ceremony in the heart of the French capital, Macron (46) told France 2 TV, "because she is a great artist". Speculation about a performance by the singer, who suffers from a rare autoimmune disease, has been going on for days. The 56-year-old is currently in the Olympic city. "Apparently, she has arrived in Paris", Macron said. However, he did not want to reveal further details about the Opening Ceremony because of the surprise effect.
24th July: Canadian tried to spy on New Zealand footballers with drone
New Zealand has complained to the International Olympic Committee about a drone incident during the training of the women's national football team. During the training session on Monday before the opening match between both teams in the Olympic tournament on Thursday in St. Etienne, a drone was observed and reported to the police. A non-accredited member of the Canadian support staff was arrested by the French authorities, the Canadian Olympic Committee reported, and expressed "shock and disappointment" over the incident. "We offer our sincere apologies to the New Zealand football team, all affected players, and the New Zealand Olympic Committee". The incident and further steps will be discussed with the IOC, organizers, and FIFA.
23rd July: Basketballer Schröder and Judoka Wagner carry German flag
Basketball World Champion Dennis Schröder and two-time Judo World Champion Anna-Maria Wagner carry the German flag at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris. The duo was chosen by fans and the German Olympic team and will take on the role at the ceremony on Friday (7:30 pm). The German Olympic Sports Federation (DOSB) confirmed this. Initially, the "FAZ" reported on Schröder's election. Among the men, Schröder, the 30-year-old NBA professional, who scored a total of 103.54 points in both ballots, clearly won over tennis player Alexander Zverev (57.57) and rifle shooter Christian Reitz (38.89). Among the women, Wagner (80.01) finished ahead of footballer Alexandra Popp (74.01) and equestrian Jessica von Bredow-Werndl (45.98). A total of over 500,000 valid votes were cast in the public vote, compared to around 189,000 votes in Tokyo three years ago.
The archers are a German medal hopeful at the Olympics in Paris. During their journey, important equipment went missing. Now the waiting has come to an end: Archer Katharina Bauer finally received her sports equipment a few days before her competition with some delay. "Wow, look what arrived in the night... My bow", wrote the 28-year-old medal candidate on Instagram after anxious waiting.
Bauer arrived in Paris on Monday without her equipment. The archer came from Munich, where, according to her statement, there were problems with loading the equipment due to a lack of personnel. She therefore missed the first opportunity to familiarize herself with her bows at the Olympic competition site in Paris.
European champion Bauer from Raubling belongs to the candidates for medals with the German women's team already on Sunday. The team had already won the World Championship title.
23. July: Rapper Snoop Dogg carries the torch at the Olympics
"Drop it like it's hot" ("Let it drop as if it's hot") is one of the hits of Snoop Dogg. Now he has a special role at the Olympics that he shouldn't take too seriously. The American rapper is supposed to carry the Olympic torch through Paris before the opening ceremony. He will be one of the torchbearers in the suburb of Saint-Denis on Friday, where the Olympiastadion is located, according to the mayor of the district, Mathieu Hanotin, who informed the French news agency AFP.
Other torchbearers are reportedly the French actress Laetitia Casta, the French rapper MC Solaar, and the former Ukrainian pole vault record holder Sergey Bubka. Snoop Dogg will also comment on the Olympics for the American broadcaster NBC. The Games begin on Friday and last until August 11.
The Olympic torch traveled almost two months through France. On Friday, the torch will be carried through the Athletes' Village before being taken to the Olympiastadion.
23. July: Olympic withdrawal – Dauser only on two apparatus
Five weeks after his severe upper arm injury, Barren world champion Lukas Dauser will only perform a reduced program. In the qualification on Saturday for the finals with the team and all individual decisions, the 31-year-old Unterhaching native will only compete on his special apparatus and on the floor. "I'm glad that everything is going well now and that I'm ready for action on the floor and on the bar. That's the maximum I can do", said Dauser.
Germany's athlete of the year injured himself at the final Olympic qualification during his rings exercise and had to worry about his third Olympic participation. A final load test with a clean bar exercise at the training center Kienbaum on the previous Wednesday brought the last certainty. "The biceps holds", said Dauser. The successful stress test also relieved Bundestrainer Valeri Belenki from having to nominate a replacement for Milan Hosseini.
Dunks, Threes, Blocks: The Olympic rehearsal becomes a Basketball Spectacle. World champions Germany missed the surprising coup directly before the Olympics in a big Basketball Spectacle in London. Against Olympic champions USA with superstar LeBron James, the team with captain Dennis Schröder lost narrowly with a score of 88:92 (41:48). The 19,177 fans in the sold-out arena in London saw a few days before the opening of the Olympic Games everything that Basketball has to offer. Schröder (13 points) and Co. held their own again, as they had already done in the test in Abu Dhabi and at the World Championship in Manila the previous year. However, this time the individual class of the team around US flag bearer James (20 points), Stephen Curry (13), and Anthony Edwards prevailed.
At the Summer Games, the USA are considered an undisputed gold favorite. Germany wants to win the third medal in three years after the EM bronze in 2022 and the surprising WM triumph in Manila the previous year, and national coach Gordon Herberger wants to give them an ideal farewell. For the DBB team, the preliminary round starts in Lille on Saturday (13.30 pm) against outsider Japan. The USA are challenged right from the start on Sunday (17.15 pm) by Vice-World champions Serbia with NBA star Nikola Jokic.
In the Olympic Games history, Germany has competed alongside France, hoping to secure medals in various sports. Dennis Schröder and Anna-Maria Wagner, both German athletes, were chosen by fans to carry the German flag during the Opening Ceremony. Meanwhile, singer Celine Dion, a Canadian artist, is rumored to perform at the event, although French President Emmanuel Macron has kept the exact details under wraps due to the surprise effect. In a separate incident, a Canadian staff member was arrested for using a drone during a New Zealand women's football team training session in St. Etienne, sparking controversy. Snoop Dogg, the American rapper, has been selected to carry the Olympic torch in Saint-Denis before the Opening Ceremony as a special role.
