Olympics live: Opening ceremony to go ahead after arson attack causes travel chaos

Olympic surfers based in Tahiti will miss out on the spectacle of the Games’ opening ceremony on Friday, but might have trumped their Paris-based peers with their accommodation in a freighter-cum-cruise ship serving as a floating athletes’ village. With limited accommodation options in the small villages dotted around Tahiti’s southern coast, Paris 2024 decided to house most surfers in the unique-looking 126-metre (413-foot) Aranui 5, which is anchored in the lagoon about 10 km (6.2 miles) from the venue of Teahupo’o.

“It’s my first time on a cruise ship, so yeah, it’s fun,” said New Zealand surfer Billy Stairmand.

“It’s awesome. We got nice rooms and it’s very comfortable. Got our own little space, we’ve got a gym, got everything you need so yeah, it’s a good vibe on the boat for sure,” Stairmand told Reuters.

On Thursday, Stairmand was bantering with South African surfers Jordy Smith and Matt McGillivray onboard as they watched their Olympic rugby sevens teams on do battle in Paris.

The ship usually accommodates 230 passengers and charges around $5,700 per person for a 12-day, 11-night cruise in a standard cabin to the Marquesas Islands, taking cargo along with paying passengers. If you want the presidential suite, that will set you back about $10,000 per person.

On board are 28 athletes from 19 delegations, each in a single room with a double bed – no one got the presidential suite. In a post on Instagram, Peru’s Sol Aguirre showcased her room complete with flat screen TV, flower garlands and a view to the jungle-clad mountains over the lagoon from her balcony.

Tenders take the surfers between the contest site and the Aranui, which means the great path, and bring in fresh food and other supplies from a nearby village.

“It’s a half an hour drive every morning but I guess that’s just what comes with the whole process of it all,” said Stairmand. “It’s cool. I love Tahiti, it’s very powerful place so it’s awesome to wake up here and kind of check the coastline every morning and feel refreshed and energised.” Surfers said that while missing the buzz of the Paris village and the opening ceremony and the lack of spectators was a shame, the unique location, perfect waves and chilled local vibes made up for it.

“Obviously it would have been cool to get some spectators. But at the same time we’re here for a job you know, we’re here to get medals and at times it probably could be distracting,” said Stairmand.

“We’re in our little bubble and we’re doing everything we can to get those medals.”

Women’s boxing made its debut at London 2012 and she sealed her place in history by becoming the first woman to win an Olympic boxing gold medal, changing not only her life but the entire profile of the sport in the United Kingdom.

Eurostar has announced the first trains to be axed following the attack on the high-speed line from Lille to Paris, writes Simon Calder.

The passenger train operator between London and Paris has cancelled the 3.31pm and 7.01pm departures to the French capital on Friday.

Both trains had been heavily booked with close to 900 travellers on each.

Eurostar told passengers: “We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.”

Passengers were told to “exchange your booking for free to travel in the same travel class at a different time or date” or “cancel your booking and get a refund”.

Very few seats are available on alternative services in the next few days.

Eurostar says it will cancel 25 per cent of trains on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

This would mean four or five trains axed on Friday and four on each weekend day.

Crowds of passengers built up at Montparnasse station in the south of Paris amid the delays. Some have been waiting since 6.40 this morning for a train, according to French daily paper Le Monde.

Coached by Phelps’s former mentor Bob Bowman, Marchand broke the final world record of the most successful Olympian ever last summer and will now look to claim a first Olympic title at the age of 22.

In all, Marchand is competing in four individual events, looking to join Phelps, Mark Spitz, and Kristin Otto as the only swimmers to claim four individual golds at the same Games.

And for Alain Bernard, France’s most successful Olympic swimmer and a double gold medallist, the pressure facing Marchand is like nothing he has ever seen.

Thousands of passengers at Basel airport face long delays or cancellations after a false bomb threat led to the evacuation of the airport.

The hub, which calls itself EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, is in French territory but has a corridor road connection from Basel, Switzerland.

EasyJet grounded its flight to and from Nice, while Lufthansa cancelled a link between Basel and Munich. Lufthansa’s budget offshoot, Eurowings, axed a round-trip to Palma.

EasyJet told passengers: “The disruption to your flight is outside of our control and is considered to be an extraordinary circumstance.”

Many flights are heavily delayed, with British Airways passengers departing for London two hours behind schedule. The easyJet flight to Edinburgh is also expected to be two hours late.

Canada head coach Bev Priestman has now been suspended for the rest of the Olympics as the drone spying saga that has engulfed the women’s football competition rumbles on.

Claims emerged earlier this week that a drone was used to spy on the training sessions of New Zealand – Canada’s opening opponent in Group A of the women’s football tournament – and assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi were subsequently sent home by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC).

Now the COC have issued a statement saying that Priestman had been removed from her role after “additional information” came to their attention regarding previous drone use that took place prior to Paris 2024.

“Traffic is starting to resume, we should see one train in three this afternoon,” said Patrice Vergriete, the resigning minister for transport, reported by Le Monde.

He added: “We can imagine that it’s a criminal act, there is a concomitance of facts. We didn’t have a specific alert before these acts of malice.”

Simone Biles is known for her high-flying, boundary-pushing gymnastics skills, but she can be just as impressive off the competition mat in her support for fellow athletes. Biles helped German gymnasts snag seats on a packed bus toward the Bercy Arena on Thursday when non-athletes intended to remain in their seats for the 45-minute ride. The arena is where the Paris 2024 gymnastics events are being held.

“Not only standing up for herself and her mental health but also fighting for us to get a seat (on) the overly packed bus toward the arena,” German Sarah Voss, 24, posted on her Instagram stories following Thursday’s podium practice.

Two-time Olympian Voss’s story also displayed a photo of a custom, heart-shaped pin adorned with Biles’ signature. Trading pins at the Olympic Games has become customary among athletes, volunteers and other participants as a gesture of friendship and camaraderie.

Voss’s teammate, three-time Olympian Pauline Schaefer-Betz, also excitedly posted a story earlier this week after receiving Biles’ pin. “This one is special,” wrote 27-year-old Schaefer-Betz, who with Voss has been making waves in gymnastics fashion by opting to wear full-length unitards for comfort and modesty.

Biles may be the most decorated gymnast on the World stage, but she has battled mental health issues in the past and now uses her experiences to inspire and support other athletes. The 27-year-old’s empathy was on display last month when reigning Olympic all-around champion Sunisa Lee was having a shaky performance at U.S. national championships.

Biles pulled Lee aside and gave her a pep talk.

“She understands more than anyone the pressure and has had to deal with the worst, so it really helped to have her in my corner,” Lee, 21, said of Biles after the competition.

Trains from Paris now arriving here at London St Pancras International between 75 and 80 minutes late, increasing journey times by more than half.

Delayed Eurostar passengers will be due compensation for arriving over an hour late. A delay of between one and hours qualifies for compensation of 25 per cent as cash – or as a 30 per cent voucher for future travel.

One-way fares on so busy a day are likely to be about £100, indicating a refund of £25 in cash or a £30 voucher. Eurostar says: “Please wait at least 24 hours before making a claim – this will give our systems time to process details of your delay.”