NEW YORK, April 15 — US Olympic chiefs said today they were "not surprised” at remarks made by French President Emmanuel Macron the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics could be moved from the river Seine to the national stadium in the event of a terror threat.

Speaking during a US Olympic team media event in New York, United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) chief executive Sarah Hirshland said she expected Paris 2024 officials to have contingency plans.

"I think any leader has a plan A, B and C, at least in the back of their mind,” Hirshland told AFP. "How developed those plans are? That’s certainly not mine to prescribe what the Organising Committee might have.

"But there’s no leader who relies on a single plan at any time. No, I wasn’t surprised.”

Asked if the USOPC had been made aware of the possibility of moving the opening ceremony to the Stade de France, Hirshland replied: "I’ve seen the same reports you’ve seen.”

Nicole Deal, the USOPC’s head of security said athlete safety was the "No.1 priority” for officials.

Deal said US officials were comfortable with plans for the opening ceremony, which will see athletes ferried along the Seine on a flotilla of boats.

"They have everything planned, and it’s going to be a well-orchestrated symphony that day,” Deal said, adding that no US athletes had shared misgivings about the river-based ceremony.

Deal meanwhile praised the decision of French authorities to limit the number of spectators at the opening ceremony to around 320,000 people.

"They changed the number of spectators and to me I was thrilled,” she said.

"Because to me that’s understanding that you need to be nimble, and you need to be flexible, and it’s a balancing game.

"If you know you can’t meet that security threshold, you got to decrease the spectators and you want to give those people that experience.

"I saw that as a positive that ‘Okay, you guys are taking feedback in reassessing, and then going back to the drawing board.

"And that’s what I want to see you make a security plan.” — AFP