Paris 2024 organisers announced on Friday that they are facing significant challenges due to a major worldwide computer systems outage, just a week before the highly anticipated opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
The widespread outage has disrupted computer systems globally, causing flights to be grounded in the United States, television broadcasts to be derailed in the UK, and telecommunications to be impacted in Australia.
“Paris 2024 is aware of global technical issues affecting Microsoft software. These issues are impacting Paris 2024’s IT operations,” organisers said in a statement.
“Paris 2024’s technical teams have been fully mobilised to mitigate the impacts of these issues and we have activated contingency plans in order to continue operations.”
An insider from the Paris Olympic Games organising committee revealed that the accreditation system has been particularly affected, leaving some individuals unable to collect their badges ahead of next Friday’s ceremony on the River Seine.
Additionally, the outage could disrupt the arrival of athletes, many of whom have had their flights cancelled just as the Olympic Village welcomed its first guests on Thursday.
The ripple effects of the outage have been felt far and wide, with the London Stock Exchange, airports in Spain, the Netherlands, and Hong Kong, as well as production at Tesla’s plant outside Berlin, all experiencing disruptions.
Microsoft, whose software is at the center of the issue, stated that it is taking “mitigation actions” to address the service disruptions, though it remains unclear if these efforts are directly related to the global outages.
As the Paris 2024 organisers work tirelessly to resolve these technical issues, the world watches closely, hoping for a smooth start to one of the most prestigious sporting events on the planet.