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00:00Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the long-polluted Seine River on Wednesday, fulfilling
00:06a promise to show the river is clean enough to host open swimming competition during the
00:102024 Olympics, the opening ceremony on the river nine days away.
00:15Clad in a wetsuit and goggles, Hidalgo plunged into the river near the imposing-looking city
00:21hall and the Notre-Dame Cathedral.
00:24Paris 2024 chief Tony Stange and the top government official for the Paris region, Marc Galland,
00:29joined her along with swimmers from local swimming clubs.
00:34The move was part of a broader effort to showcase the river's improved cleanliness ahead of
00:39the Summer Games, which will kick off July 26 with a lavish open-air ceremony that includes
00:45an athletes' parade on boats on the Seine.
00:49Since 2015, organizers have invested US$1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for the Olympics
00:57and to ensure Parisians have a cleaner river after the Games.
01:00The plan included constructing a giant underground water storage basin in central Paris, renovating
01:06sewer infrastructure and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.
01:27The river will host several open-water swimming events during the Games, including marathon
01:34swimming at the Olympic Games and the swimming legs of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlons.
01:57you