Olympics opening ceremony faces turmoil as performing artists issue strike threat

The opening ceremony for the Olympic Games is facing potential turmoil after a union of French performing artists issued a strike notice amid an escalating dispute with organisers.

With just nine days until the curtain-raiser for the Games in Paris, the representative body for actors, dancers and acrobats claim complaints over pay and inequalities are being ignored.

French Union of Performing Artists says while the slogan ‘Doing better together’ is displayed today everywhere in the streets of Paris, they note that their employment conditions have not been discussed together, nor for the better.

The union claims it has alerted Paname 24, an events firm with a leading role in organising the opening ceremony on the River Seine, several times of issues with contractual practices.

The group claims to have received no response to a series of questions around pay fluctuating from €60 for intermittent workers in the entertainment industry to €1,610 for employees who have benefited from successful collective negotiations.

The group also takes issue with Parisian artists not being reimbursed and housed to the same extent as artists from other areas.

The Paris 2024 Organising Committee says they take the working conditions of all those contributing to the success of the Games very seriously.

They say they have been in touch with Paname 24, their service provider responsible for recruiting the dancers for the opening ceremony, in order to confirm the level of employment conditions in effect.

The Organising Committee says Paris 2024 has verified that Paname 24 has strictly followed the law when applying the collective bargaining agreement that applies to the dance profession.

They say the dancers’ remuneration is above the minimum levels established by their collective bargaining agreement while the remuneration for different dancers depends on their role, as in any other production.

About 3,000 artists and 400 dancers are expected to take part in the opening ceremony.

Instead of the usual stadium setting, athletes will parade along the Seine, with each nation allocated their own boat.

Aside from the 10,500 athletes who will be there, there are 600,000 people expected to be in attendance, watching along the streets of Paris.

The Paris 2024 opening ceremony is next Saturday at 5.30am.

 Source: telegraph.co.uk