France Reduces Crowd Numbers For Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

The Paris Olympics opening ceremony, shown in this mock-up illustration released by organisers, will break tradition by taking place on the River Seine (Credit: AFP)

The French government announced Wednesday that it had slashed the crowd size for the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics this July amid security and other organisational worries.

The traditional opening parade for the Games is set to take place in boats on the river Seine on July 26, the first time a summer Olympics has opened outside the main athletics stadium.