500-day countdown to Paris Olympics begins | The Express Tribune
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PARIS: In 500 days on Tuesday, the 2024 Summer Olympics will burst into life in Paris as the teams float down the River Seine on barges in a unique opening ceremony. The Paris Olympics and Paralympics have a lot riding on them – they involve the return of full crowds of spectators to the world's greatest sporting spectacle after the Covid-blighted Summer Games in Tokyo in 2021 and the Winter Olympics in Beijing last year. On top of that, the spending on the Games is being scrutinised as never before – venues are focused on Seine-Saint-Denis, the poorest area in France. And the buildup is being buffeted by the war in Ukraine and its ramifications for competitors from that country, Russia and its ally Belarus. Here are the key issues to be resolved before the Games open on July 26, 2024: The International Olympic Committee's suggestion that it wants to find a "pathway" for athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus to take part as neutrals in Paris m