A ring of steel will be thrown around the Olympic men’s basketball final to protect world leaders, celebrities, and the multimillionaire NBA stars.
Barack Obama is set to top the guest list for the gold medal match which has a sell out 13,000 crowd.
The former US president is reportedly flying in and set to be joined by ex-England football captain David Beckham, Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise, Mark Wahlberg, Natalie Portman and Billy Crystal with musicians Eminem, Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg and Drake also on the guest list.
Armed police, soldiers and private security guards will seal off the Bercy Arena in Paris ahead of the gold medal clash between favourites USA and host nation France.
Among a host of other big names who may attend arr sports legends Serena Williams, Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan, film director Spike Lee and billionaire businessman Bill Gates.
Barack Obama is set to top the guest list for the gold medal match for the Olympic men’s basketball final in Paris, which has a sell out 13,000 crowd
The former US president is reportedly flying in and set to be joined by ex-England football captain David Beckham alongside a host of huge Hollywood names
Here comes Hollywood: Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg, Natalie Portman and Billy Crystal are all on the guest list
Armed police, soldiers and private security guards will seal off the Bercy Arena in Paris ahead of the gold medal clash between favourites USA and host nation France. Pictured: Inside the Bercy Arena, where the final will take place
The potential VIP guest list for ‘the game of the Games’ final has thrown up a massive security headache for Olympic chiefs
The potential VIP guest list for ‘the game of the Games’ final has thrown up a massive security headache for Olympic chiefs.
The stadium, built in 1984, sits at the heart of Paris next to one of the capital’s main railway stations Gare de Lyon.
One security expert said: ‘Hosting an event like this potentially featuring many high profile attendees in such a crowded location in the middle of a crowded city presents a perfect storm of problems for protection personnel.’
Streets around the stadium will be sealed off and patrolled by teams of soldiers in combat gear armed with automatic weapons during the game.
Snipers will be stationed on neighbouring rooftops, Reaper drones will monitor the area from above and cameras loaded with artificial intelligence software will scour the streets for abandoned packages and potential crowd surges.
France is conducting one of its biggest security operations since WW2 to safeguard the Games.
More than 45,000 police, 10,000 soldiers, a squadron of Rafale fighter jets, surveillance planes, and sniper-carrying helicopters are patrolling the French capital.
The biggest military camp since WW2 was established in the city to house soldiers.
Troops can be scrambled to all Olympic venues within 30 minutes.
Detailed background checks identified 3,900 potential attendees who were barred in advance.
The homes of 155 suspects with possible terrorist links were raided ahead of the Games.
France is conducting one of its biggest security operations since the Second World War to safeguard the Games
Around 40 countries – including the UK – have supplied up to 2,000 police reinforcements for the operation to safeguard more than 14,000 athletes plus millions of spectators.
The operation was designed to combat a host of potential threats in a country blighted by terrorism and political instability.
In the last 14 months so-called `lone wolves’ have carried out knife attacks targeting tourists in Paris, children in an Alpine park, and a high school teacher.
The week before the Games began a 40-year-old Russian chef was arrested on suspicion of colluding with ‘foreign powers to stir up hostility in France’ – which can carry a 30-year jail sentence.
The Kremlin has been accused of trying to destabilise the Games.
In March, Olympic organisers scaled down the opening ceremony amid fears of a terror attack.
Weeks later two men were accused of plotting an operation aimed at the Games.
The International Olympic Committee has said it was confident security surrounding the Games could combat any increased threat.
