Paris memorial for the 1972 Olympic Games massacre will have to be held in a private ceremony

The ceremony for the victims of the 1972 Munich Olympics terrorist attack, to be held at the Paris 2024 Games, will now be held at a secret location outside the Olympic Village. It was previously scheduled to be held at the City Hall. According to media reports, the decision was made due to concerns that it could be a target for antisemitic attacks. 

However, the Olympic Committee assured that the change was made because the specific permits needed to hold the event at City Hall could not be issued in the days leading up to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

"Due to the delegation’s tight schedule, it was decided to hold the ceremony, in coordination with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, in its full format on August 6 in another location", the committee said in a statement carried by The Times Of Israel.

"Claims that the ceremony is underground or that it was moved due to any specific security alerts, or that canceling it was considered, are fundamentally false claims", he highlighted. 

The ceremony is being held in memory of the victims of the attack at the Munich Olympics, when eight members of the Palestinian militant organization Black September infiltrated the Olympic village and killed 11 Israelis. The attack has been commemorated at the games since Tokyo 2020.

The ceremony occurring in August is also expected to be attended by the likes of Thomas Bach, as well as Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, members of the Israeli delegation and French Jewish community leaders.