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Abuja, Nigeria CNN —The Duke and Duchess of Sussex landed in Nigeria on Friday, launching a three-day private visit to the West African nation, where they will meet with wounded soldiers and visit local charities, officials said. My husband was excited to jump up!” Meghan told cheering students in the school’s hall. Kola Sulaimon/AFP/Getty ImagesPrince Harry and Meghan were invited to Nigeria by the chief of defense staff, Christopher Musa, the country’s highest-ranking military official. The couple’s hosts, the Nigerian Defence Headquarters, are keen to be involved further in the Invictus Games and to be part of the wider Invictus community. Effiom Antigha, captain of Team Nigeria, told CNN last year that the games gave him a new lease on life.

Persons: Duke, Duchess of Sussex, Marshal Abidemi Marquis, “ We’re, ” Meghan, Harry, ”, Kola Sulaimon, Prince Harry, Meghan, Christopher Musa, Marquis, Oyeyemi Aderibigbe, “, Ife, Etti, ’, Ngozi, Bola Tinubu, Richard Montgomery, ” Cpl, Effiom Antigha Organizations: CNN’s Royal, Nigeria CNN, Invictus, Air, Nigerian Defence Headquarters, Lightway Academy, GEANCO Foundation, Getty, CNN, Invictus Games, World Trade Organization, Israel, Team Nigeria, Foundation Locations: Abuja, Nigeria, West African, Kola, AFP, Lagos, Nigerian, London, Los Angeles, Kaduna State, Germany, Colombia

☆ Paris Promised the Olympics Would Be Accessible. The Clock Is Ticking.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Anne-Marie Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

During a trip to Paris last November, Samantha Renke just couldn’t seem to find a taxi that could accommodate her motorized wheelchair. “Every time I logged on, it just kept saying, ‘Unavailable, unavailable, unavailable,’” Ms. Renke said, recounting her struggle to book an accessible cab using the G7 taxi app. Eating out was also a problem for Ms. Renke, a 38-year-old British actress and disability campaigner who has a genetic condition commonly known as brittle bones: Too few restaurants had step-free access. As Paris prepares to welcome around 15 million visitors — an estimated 350,000 with disabilities — for the Olympics and Paralympics, the city is still working to fulfill its promise to make itself “universally accessible” before the opening ceremony, on July 26. “Paris will be accessible.

Persons: Samantha Renke, ‘, Renke, “, ”, Fadila Khattabi Organizations: Paris, Olympics Locations: Paris, “ Paris

☆ Taylor Swift fans lose at least $1 million to Eras Tour scams in the UK
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Thousands of Taylor Swift’s UK fans have been duped into buying fake tickets for her upcoming Eras Tour concerts, according to a major British bank. With all UK dates now sold out, desperate fans are more likely to turn to resale sites and social media for tickets. Lloyds said it expects to see “many more fans fall victim to ticket scams in the coming weeks and months,” leading up to the first concert in Edinburgh, Scotland. According to UK Finance, a financial services industry association, Brits lost more than £40 million ($50 million) to “purchase scams,” including sales of fraudulent tickets, in the first half of last year. In November, the bank warned customers over ticket scams relating to Glastonbury, the popular outdoor music festival held annually in England in the summer.

Persons: Taylor Swift’s, —, Swift, ”, you’re, Liz Ziegler, you’ve, nothing’s, they’ve, Kirsty Adams, Taylor Swift Organizations: London CNN, Lloyds Bank, “, Lloyds, Ticketmaster, UK Finance, HSBC, Europe’s, CNN, Barclays, Glastonbury, Olympics Locations: British, Singapore, United States, United Kingdom, Edinburgh, Scotland, Glastonbury, England

☆ Eiffel Tower Is Closed for 4th Day as Its Workers Strike
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Aurelien Breeden | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Anthony Aranda, a 23-year-old tourist from Peru, had only two days to visit Paris with his cousin, so getting to the top of the Eiffel Tower featured prominently on his to-do list. But on Thursday, he had to cross it off that list without stepping foot on France’s famed Iron Lady. A labor strike, now in its fourth day, was keeping the tower closed. “We are traveling to London next, so this was our last chance,” Mr. Aranda said in the drizzling rain as he looked up at the wrought-iron monument. The site is so symbolic, in fact, that medals created for the Games will be encrusted with iron from the tower itself.

Persons: Anthony Aranda, Mr, Aranda Organizations: Eiffel, Games Locations: Peru, Paris, London, Spain

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff was in the first row on Saturday. Emhoff makes no secret of his basketball fandom; he's been a Los Angeles Lakers season ticket holder for years. “Things need to be fair, things need to be equal and men need to support women.”Emhoff has often represented the U.S. at sporting events, leading delegations when asked to do so by President Joe Biden. “It's one of the greatest parts of being second gentleman,” Emhoff said. And yes, even the second gentleman got a little excited to see NBA stars practice before the college game.

Persons: Douglas Emhoff, Kamala Harris, Emhoff, he's, Harris, ”, ” Emhoff, Joe Biden, Allyson Felix, “, I’m courtside, Steph Curry, I’m Organizations: INDIANAPOLIS, Virginia Union, Winston, Salem State, Los Angeles Lakers, Lakers, Associated Press, U.S, soccer team, Tokyo Paralympics, Washington Nationals Locations: Indianapolis, Salem, U.S, I’m, United States

☆ Paris 2024 Olympic medals to feature iron from the Eiffel Tower
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The medals at this year’s Olympics in Paris were not only inspired by the Eiffel Tower — they each contain an original piece of the 19th-century landmark. The design was overseen by French jeweler Chaumet, whose parent company LVMH signed a major sponsorship deal with Paris 2024 last summer. The Paralympics medal, meanwhile, is decorated with a graphical representation of the Eiffel Tower, as if viewed from below. From right: Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 Olympics organising committee on the Eiffel Tower with French cyclist Marie Patouillet, fencer Sara Balzer and athlete Arnaud Assoumani holding Olympic and Paralympic Games medals. In a statement announcing the designs, Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet said the decision represented a “coming together” of the two events.

Persons: Chaumet, LVMH, Benoit Tessier Benoit Tessier, Clémentine Massonnat, Schaller, ” Massonnat, Tony Estanguet, Marie Patouillet, Sara Balzer, Arnaud Assoumani, Benoit Tessier, ”, Massonnat, Mathieu Lehanneur’s, Louis Vuitton, Moët Hennessy Organizations: CNN, Eiffel, Paris, Nike, Paralympic Games, Chaumet’s, Paralympic, Reuters, Olympic, Olympics, Dior Locations: Paris, Athens, French

☆ Gold, Silver and … Iron? Olympic Medals Will Have Piece of Eiffel Tower
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Aurelien Breeden | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Athletes who win medals at the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Paris won’t just win gold, silver or bronze. Their medals will also include a piece of iron — wrought-iron, to be exact, from the Eiffel Tower itself. Organizers of the Games said Thursday that each of the 5,084 medals created for the Paris events will be decorated on one side with a hexagon-shaped piece of iron recovered from the French capital’s iconic landmark. “This exceptional object had to meet another very strong symbol of our country and our capital,” Tony Estanguet, the president of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, said at an event to unveil the medals’ design in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris where several Olympic events will be held. Mr. Estanguet said the iron used in the medals will be recycled fragments from the Eiffel Tower’s original 1889 construction that had been sitting unused in a warehouse after renovation work.

Persons: ” Tony Estanguet, Denis, Estanguet Organizations: Games, Eiffel Locations: Paris won’t, Paris, Saint

By making history at the Games, Paris medalists will take a bit of France and its history home, too. The iron pieces embedded in the center of the Olympic medals each weigh 18 grams (about two-thirds of an ounce). We realized that there’s one symbol known across the world, which is the Eiffel Tower,” Roncin said. “We said to ourselves, ‘Hey, what if we approached the Eiffel Tower Operating Co. to see if it’s possible to get a bit of the Eiffel Tower to integrate into the medal?’”The company agreed, and “the dream became reality,” he said. They’ll come in a dark-blue box from Chaumet and a certificate from the Eiffel Tower Operating Co. that the iron pieces came from the monument.

Persons: Simone Biles, LeBron James, it’s, Gustave Eiffel’s, Joachim Roncin, ” Roncin, “, ”, Chaumet, didn’t Organizations: PARIS, Eiffel, Paris Games, Games, Paris, Operating, “, Nike, Paris Mint, Olympics Locations: London, Beijing, Athens, France, Paris, paris

☆ Olympic sponsorship deal with beer company AB InBev criticized as ‘cynical’ and ‘an odd pairing’
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

In a room crowded with people in suits, the sponsorship deal with brewing giant AB InBev was met with beaming smiles and the clinking of beer bottles by many of those in attendance. AB InBev is the latest company to participate in The Olympic Partner (TOP) program – the highest level of Olympic sponsorship – alongside the likes of Coca-Cola, Visa and Deloitte. AB InBev said that it would not reveal the cost of its deal with the IOC. Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for AB InBevThe IOC and AB InBev see the deal as part of a wider market demand for non-alcoholic drinks which, despite being in circulation for decades, have had a recent surge in popularity. Some brands have found ways to navigate France’s restrictive laws when it comes to alcohol advertising.

Persons: Thomas Bach gushed, ” Bach, ”, ” Andrew Misell, Kin Cheung, Sportcal, Michel Doukeris, Thomas Bach, Stuart C, Wilson, Molson Coors, ” Marcel Marcondes, “ Corona Cero, Marcondes, Bach, Garde, ” Ian Gilmore, “ Corona, ” Alex Barker, ” Barker, Xavier Laine Organizations: CNN, Olympic Committee, InBev, IOC, Corona, Cortina, Alcohol, CNN Sport, Cola, Visa, Deloitte, Health, WHO, Centers for Disease Control, University of Liverpool, ”, Getty, AB InBev, Heineken, Molson, Games, Alcohol Health Alliance, University of Derby, rugby’s, Nations, Guinness, Stade de France, French rugby, Wales, TOP Locations: London, Corona Cero, Paris, Milan, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Corona, Garde

☆ Paris metro ticket prices set to almost double during 2024 Olympics
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Tourists are set to pay almost twice the usual price of Paris Metro tickets during the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics that will take place in the French capital from July to September next year. "We will create a new [transport] pass, the Paris 2024 Pass, that will allow visitors to move across the entire Île-de-France. Videos that appeared to show bedbugs on the Paris metro, the city's Charles de Gaulle airport and trains in the country have spread on social media, sparking concerns in early autumn. Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.

Persons: Valerie Pecresse, Pecresse, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Charles de Gaulle Organizations: Paris Metro, CNBC, Olympics, Paris Mayor, NBCUniversal, NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, NBC, Games Locations: France, Paris, U.S

☆ Paris metro ticket price to double during 2024 Olympics
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Paris metro ticket prices will almost double during the 2024 Olympics, the French capital region's president said on Tuesday, adding that residents with passes would be shielded from the temporary rise and visitors would be charged "a fair price". "During the Olympics and the Paralympics, the Ile de France region will dramatically increase its transport offer. "We're going to create a new pass, the Paris 2024 pass, that will allow visitors to travel through the whole Ile de France region. Last week, Paris mayor hit out at Pecresse, saying the French capital would not be ready in terms of transport. Pecresse said that it was crucial that the Paris region residents be spared.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Valerie Pecresse, Pecresse, Clement Beaune, it's, Julien Pretot, Lucien Libert, Alexander Smith, Pritha Organizations: French, REUTERS, Rights, Paris, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Pecresse

☆ Transport won't be ready, Paris mayor says ahead of 2024 Games
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Paris' Mayor Anne Hidalgo attends the 105th session of the Congress of Mayors organised by the "France's Mayors' Association" (AMF), in Paris, France, November 21, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Paris will not be ready for the Olympics and Paralympics in terms of transport and sheltering the homeless, city mayor Anne Hidalgo has said. "There will be places where (public) transport will not be ready because there will not be enough trains and not frequently enough," Hidalgo told news show Quotidien in thinly veiled criticism of Paris region president Valerie Pecresse. The Ile de France (Paris region) Regional Council, led by right-winger Pecresse, is in charge of transports in the region. Socialist Hidalgo said the RER (regional express train) station at Porte Maillot in western Paris would not be ready for the July 26-Aug 11 Games.

Persons: Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Sarah Meyssonnier, Anne Hidalgo, Hidalgo, Valerie Pecresse, Pecresse, I'm, Julien Pretot, Ken Ferris Organizations: Mayor, Mayors, Association, REUTERS, Rights, Olympics, Regional Council, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Porte

☆ Paris 2024 to sell 400,000 tickets next week, 7.2 million already sold
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/ File photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Some 400,000 tickets for the Paris 2024 Olympics will go on sale at the end of the month, organisers said on Wednesday. Paris 2024 is hoping to sell 10 million tickets for the July 26-Aug. 11 Summer Games and has already sold 7.2 million, chief operating officer Michael Aloisio said. "I don't think any other organising committee had sold that many tickets so fast," Aloisio told reporters. Paris 2024 has come under fire for the prices of some tickets but said on Wednesday that a third of the newly issued tickets would be "under 50 euros" across all disciplines apart from surfing. Organisers are also looking to sell 2.8 million tickets for the Paralympics and said they would give details on the progress at the end of the year.

Persons: Guy Degrenne, Stephane Mahe, Michael Aloisio, Aloisio, Julien Pretot, Ed Osmond Organizations: Paris, Paralympic Games, ArcelorMittal, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Vire, France

☆ LVMH heir Antoine Arnault in spotlight after management shuffle
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Antoine Arnault, 46, is also in charge of image and environment at LVMH, and credited with negotiating a high-profile deal for the company to sponsor next summer's Paris Olympic Games. He will remain chairman of Berluti, which he has managed since 2012, as well as another LVMH fashion brand Loro Piana. Jean-Marc Mansvelt, CEO of historic jewellery label Chaumet, will become CEO of Berluti, while Charles Leung, CEO of jewellery label Fred, will become CEO of Chaumet. The group will seek a successor for Leung, who recently created buzz by introducing high-end jewellery featuring lab-created diamonds. Reporting by Mimosa Spencer; editing by Jason Neely and Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Antoine Arnault, Du, Bernard Arnault, Berluti, Maison, Toni Belloni, Jean, Marc Mansvelt, Charles Leung, Leung, Bernard Arnault's, Delphine Arnault, Dior, Mimosa Spencer, Jason Neely, Jane Merriman Organizations: LVMH, Olympic, Thomson Locations: Paris, PARIS, LVMH

☆ France fashions slender Paris 2024 torch from raw steel
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Julien Pretot | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"It's a bit like my baby, our baby," Delphine Moulin, Paris 2024 director of celebration, told Reuters on Friday amid the sounds of metal being cut, bent, polished and sprayed with micro-particles of steel. You can see that it's different from the usually flared shape of the Olympic torch," Moulin added. You don't use the same kind of steel to make rails and to make this torch," ArcelorMittal France president Eric Niedziela said. Paris 2024 officials and ArcelorMittal have been tight-lipped on the budget of the torches' fabrication, declining to give an estimate of the overall cost. The Paris 2024 flame will be lit on April 16 in Ancient Olympia and will remain in the country for about a week before a handover ceremony in Athens and the start of its journey to France.

Persons: Delphine Moulin, Guy Degrenne, Moulin, ArcelorMittal's Franck Wasilewski, Eric Niedziela, Julien Pretot, Ed Osmond Organizations: Paris, Paralympic Games, ArcelorMittal, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Vire, France, Paris, Normandy, Greece, Ancient Olympia, Athens

☆ LVMH's Berluti to design Olympics opening ceremony uniforms for French teams
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The new logo of Paris 2024 Olympics is seen on a pin during a ceremony in Paris, France, October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Luxury giant LVMH's (LVMH.PA) Berluti brand will design the summer Olympics and Paralympics opening ceremony uniforms for the French teams, boosting the profile of the upscale menswear label known for buffed leather shoes and tailored suits. Antoine is credited with negotiating LVMH's 150 million euros ($166 million) worth Olympics sponsorship deal initially announced in July. Paris, which has hosted two previous Olympics, will stage the summer Games after a 100 years. LVMH's sponsorship includes its top fashion brands Louis Vuitton and Dior, as well as Moet Hennessy champagne and spirits labels and jeweller Chaumet, which will design medals for the event.

Persons: Pascal, Antoine Arnault, Bernard Arnault, Antoine, Louis Vuitton, Moet Hennessy, Chaumet, Leon Marchand, Melanie de Jesus dos Santos, Enzo Lefort, Pauline Deroulede, Mimosa Spencer, Nivedita Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Louis, Dior, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Tokyo

☆ Paris 2024 calls for vigilance amid disinformation campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Games is seen on an official toy mascot at the Doudou et Compagnie factory in La Guerche-de-Bretagne near Rennes in Brittany, France, April 12, 2023. "Between now and the Games, Paris 2024 will continue to monitor, in conjunction with the relevant authorities, the veracity of information circulating about the event and its organisation," Paris 2024 said in a statement on Tuesday. Ties between Paris and Baku have been strained in recent months and have worsened since Baku took control of the Nagorno-Karabah region. Paris 2024 said it was not the first time such campaigns had been aimed at the Games. In summer 2022, a video from New York Insider linking the June riots to the organisation of Paris 2024 went viral, it said.

Persons: Stephane Mahe, VIGINUM, Julien Pretot, John Irish, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Paralympics, Compagnie, REUTERS, Games, New, Paris, Thomson Locations: La Guerche, Bretagne, Rennes, Brittany, France, Azerbaijan, Paris, Baku, Karabah, New York

☆ Parisians lose enthusiasm ahead of Summer Olympics - poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Games is seen on the Pulse building, the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympics organizing committee, as a police search is currently underway, in Saint-Denis near Paris, France, June 20, 2023. Some 44% of Paris region residents expressed a negative opinion while 65% of French residents said having the Olympics in Paris from July 26-Aug. 11 was a 'good thing', the Odoxa poll for Winamax and RTL showed. Some 1,207 Paris region residents, and 1,005 French residents were polled. Two years ago, only 22% of Parisians had a negative opinion of the Paris Olympics while more than half of them are now considering leaving the region for the duration of the event. By contrast, 64% of Parisians are confident that the opening ceremony on the Seine river will be a success.

Persons: Denis, Stephanie Lecocq, Julien Pretot, Christina Fincher Organizations: Paralympics, REUTERS, Rights, Winamax, RTL, Paris, Thomson Locations: Saint, Paris, France

☆ Torch relay to start from Games hometown in Britain
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Julien Pretot | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"We wanted it to kick off where the Paralympics were born," Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet told a press conference. The torch will then be carried by 24 British athletes and midway through the Channel Tunnel 24 French athletes will take over for the journey to Calais. Eleven other flames will then be lit in France and all will converge on Paris for the Aug. 28 Games opening ceremony. German-born Guttmann became a British citizen in 1945 and organised the first Stoke Mandeville Games for disabled war veterans three years later. All participants in what Guttmann called the "Paraplegic Games" were suffering from spinal cord injuries and competed in wheelchairs.

Persons: Denis, Mathieu Lehanneur, Pascal, Ludwig Guttmann, Tony Estanguet, Guttmann, Julien Pretot, Ken Ferris Organizations: Press, Paris, Rights, Stoke, Stoke Mandeville Games, Concorde, Thomson Locations: France, Stoke Mandeville, Britain, Paris, Calais, British

☆ Lonely Planet’s top places to go in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Maureen Ohare | Maureen O'Hare | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Get your wishlist fired up, Lonely Planet just revealed its 50 top travel destinations for the year ahead. The travel publishing empire turns 50 this year, and its bumper Best in Travel 2024 list is expanded across five categories: top countries, regions, cities, sustainable travel destinations and best-value locations. The “wild beauty” of South Africa also gets a nod, with Lonely Planet recommending visitors check out the country’s “impressive crop of ecolodges” committed to protecting Earth’s biodiversity. The underrated American Midwest is the top tip here: in cities such as Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit, “you’ll find old warehouses transformed into art studios, new eco design hotels and many Michelin-starred restaurants,” says Lonely Planet. Says Lonely Planet, “Here you’ll find the highest sea cliffs in Europe and miles of unspoilt coastal hiking trails.”Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2024India: A big country with a whole lot to love, including Gadisar lake in Rajasthan.

Persons: CNN —, Lucia, Torres del, ecolodges ”, Babanango, “, ”, you’ll, Ilan Shacham, Ireland País Vasco, Português, daniel Organizations: CNN, Lonely, Lonely Planet, Kenyan, Michelin, Getty, Mongolia India Morocco Chile Benin Mexico Uzbekistan Pakistan Croatia St, Regions, CNN Cities Nairobia, Chile Greenland, Lithuania Eco, France Egypt Ikaria, Greece Algeria Southern Lakes, Central Otago , New Zealand Locations: Mongolia, Mexico, Croatia, St, Benin, Uzbekistan, City, Nairobi, Paris, Prague, Czech, “, Patagonia, Torres del Paine, Spain, Valencia, Barcelona, South Africa, South, KwaZulu Natal, Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Algeria, Northern Africa, Europe, Balkans, Slovenia, Bosnia, Hercegovina, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, Adriatic, Donegal, Ireland’s, India, Rajasthan, Mongolia India Morocco Chile Benin Mexico Uzbekistan Pakistan Croatia, Lucia Macedonia, South Australia Donegal, Ireland, Spain Southern Thailand Swahili, Tanzania Montana, USA, Austria, Kenya Paris, France Montreal, Canada Mostar, Herzegovina Philadelphia , Pennsylvania Manaus, Brazil Jakarta, Indonesia Prague, Czech Republic Izmir, Turkey Kansas City , Missouri, Spain Patagonia, Argentina, Chile, Chile Greenland Wales, Santiago Palau Hokkaido, Japan Ecuador Baltic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, South Africa Poland, USA Poland Nicaragua Danube Limes, Bulgaria Normandy, France Egypt, Greece Algeria Southern, Central Otago , New

☆ No restrictions on hijab in Paris 2024 Games' athletes village-IOC
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Athletes can wear a hijab in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games athletes' village without any restriction, the International Olympic Committee said on Friday, days after France's sports minister banned it for the host country's athletes. The Olympic body also said it needed to better understand the situation in France and had been in contact with the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF). French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said on Sunday French athletes would be barred from wearing a hijab during the Paris Games to respect principles of secularism. The vast majority of the approximately 10,000 athletes at Olympic Games reside in apartments in the Olympic village and share common spaces, including dining halls and recreational areas. There are 32 sports on the programme of the Paris Games.

Persons: Stephane Mahe, Amelie Oudea, Castera, Emmanuel Macron, Karolos, Toby Davis Organizations: Paralympics, Compagnie, REUTERS, Rights, International Olympic, French Olympic, French Sports, Sunday, Paris Games, IOC, Olympic Games, International Federation, United Nations, Thomson Locations: La Guerche, Bretagne, Rennes, Brittany, France, Paris, ”

☆ Russian athletes to compete at Paris Paralympics after IPC votes against full ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"At the IPC General Assembly in Bahrain, IPC members voted 74-65 (13 abstentions) against a motion to fully suspend NPC (National Paralympic Committee) Russia for breaches of its constitutional membership obligations," the IPC said. The decision comes two weeks before the International Olympic Committee session in Mumbai where it will also discuss Russia's and Belarus' participation at the Paris Olympics next year. The IPC had last year suspended the paralympic committees of both countries and banned their athletes from competing following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The IOC has not sanctioned the Russian or Belarus Olympic Committee or Russian members of the IOC. In March, however, it issued a first set of recommendations for international sports federations to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to return.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Karolos Grohmann, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Ephemere, Rights, International Paralympic, IPC, Assembly, National Paralympic Committee, International Olympic, Russia's, Paris Olympics, IOC, Belarus Olympic, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Russia, Bahrain, Mumbai, Belarus, Ukraine, Belarusian

☆ Russian para-athletes permitted to compete under neutral flag at Paris 2024 Games after IPC vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Matt Foster | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Russian para-athletes will be permitted to compete under a neutral flag at next year’s Paris 2024 Games after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) voted against a full suspension of Russia’s National Paralympic Committee (NPC) on Friday. “IPC members voted 90-56 in favour of a motion to partially suspend NPC Russia (with six members abstaining),” the IPC said in a statement. A full suspension would have meant no Russian para-athletes could compete at the Paris Games. NPC Russia is also not allowed to organise any sport event/competition involving other IPC members,” the statement added. CNN reached out to the Ukrainian and Russian Paralympic Committees for comment on the decision but did not immediately receive a response.

Persons: “ Organizations: CNN, International Paralympic Committee, IPC, Russia’s National Paralympic Committee, Assembly, Russia, Paralympic, Paris Games, “, Russian Paralympic, Russian NPC, Russian Locations: Russian, Paris, IPC’s, Bahrain, Russia, Beijing, Belarusian, Mumbai

☆ Airbnb CEO urges Parisians to put homes up for rent for Olympics
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Elizabeth Pineau | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Paris' tourism office expects some 16 million people to visit the wider Paris region for the Olympics and Paralympics. If they put their (homes) on Airbnb and there is enough housing, prices will stay within reason," Chesky said. "If not enough people put their homes on Airbnb and people don't have enough ... hotels and they can't build more hotels, that's going to increase prices." "So while hotel prices are going up, I will make sure that Airbnb is more affordable than hotels for the equivalent amount of space when people are travelling for Paris for the Olympics. Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Emmanuel Dunand, Brian Chesky, Chesky, Elizabeth Pineau, Ingrid Melander, Alison Williams Organizations: Olympics, Rights, Reuters, Games, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Airbnb

The 35-year-old Frenchwoman brought back two bronze medals from the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games on the track and she now looks set to take part in the Paris 2024 Olympics after claiming the paracycling road race world title last year. Sport, however, is also a platform for Patouillet, also a gay rights activist, to raise awareness against discrimination on any basis, be it gender, sexual orientation or disability. In 2022, she sported rainbow-coloured hair at the 2022 UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships in a bid to spark conversation on LGBTQIA+ rights. "Athletes who left an impression on me through their activist commitments to fight against discrimination, they are rather Anglo-Saxon. "I hope that the (2024) Games in Paris will give rise, or at least be an opportunity for certain athletes, to speak out on these subjects and that, after that, there will be changes on this."

Persons: Marie Patouillet, Frenchwoman, Patouillet, Dykes, I've, it's, Julien Pretot, Christian Radnedge Organizations: Tokyo Paralympic Games, French, Reuters, Paralympic, Paralympics Games, French national Institute of Sport, Physical Education, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Paris, France

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