Paris Olympics organisers say IT glitch could affect arrival of athletes

Paris Olympics organisers said on Friday they were experiencing problems linked with a major worldwide computer systems outage, a week before the Games’ opening ceremony takes place.

“Paris 2024 is aware of global technical issues affecting Microsoft software. These issues are impacting Paris 2024’s IT operations,” organisers said.

“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,” they added.

A source at the Paris Olympic Games organising committee said the problem is affecting the accreditation system with some people unable to pick up badges before next Friday’s ceremony on the River Seine.

The source added it could also affect arrival of athletes who have had flights cancelled, after the athletes’ Olympic village welcomed its first guests on Thursday.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE), airports in Spain, the Netherlands and Hong Kong as well as production at US carmaker Tesla’s plant outside Berlin have also been disrupted.

Microsoft said in a statement it was taking “mitigation actions” in response to service issues.

It was not clear if those were linked to the global outages.