“Security” is the name of the game at past and current Olympic and Paralympic Games

“Security” is the name of the game at past and current Olympic and Paralympic Games


When the Olympic flame reaches the cauldron to kick off the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, it also ignites one of the most carefully planned security operations in the world.

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The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), responsible for law enforcement and security for the U.S. Department of State, is tasked with leading the International Security Event Group to help secure Paris 2024 and previous Games. Working with host nation security, the group coordinates U.S. government interagency efforts to ensure that U.S. citizens remain safe while attending international events like the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Among DSS security responsibilities, special agents and other personnel staff help secure competition venues, athlete villages, a U.S. government security operations center, and a host nation law enforcement center.

“Nations often use their medal counts when determining their success at the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security Gentry Smith. “When it comes to security, DSS strives for ‘zero’ as a winning number—‘zero’ significant security incidents.”

DSS has been involved with the protective security of U.S. Olympic athletes since the 1976 Olympic Games in Montréal, Canada—the first Games after the 1972 Black September terrorist attack in Munich, Germany, where members of the Israeli Olympic team were held hostage and killed.

At the 1984 Summer Games, DSS had an expanded security role as the host nation law enforcement lead, which meant adding protection for visiting foreign dignitaries to its other responsibilities when the Games took place in Los Angeles.

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More serious concerns about the security of U.S. Olympic athletes arose in 1991 after the defection of several Cuban athletes to the United States several months before the Pan American Games, which were hosted by Cuba that year. U.S. Olympic officials were concerned that the Cubans would harass U.S. athletes at future Olympic Games and exploit relationships they made afterward. The U.S. Olympic Committee turned to DSS personnel who briefed Pan Am Games athletes on security issues in Tampa before they flew to Havana.

After the Havana Pan Am Games, training played an expanded role as DSS developed a more formalized program, with an emphasis on briefings and other preparation before Games events. In 1992, DSS created a specific position responsible for the security of U.S. athletes for the Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

For the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, the DSS role consisted largely of protection of dignitaries and the Israeli Olympic team. But the bombing at the Atlanta Olympics, although perpetrated by domestic terrorists, prompted DSS to continue to expand its security role in future Games.

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As part of this expanded role, in preparation for the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia, DSS created the permanent position of Olympic security coordinator who focused on working with and coordinating assistance with Australian security and law enforcement agencies; serving as a liaison with the U.S. business community; and assisting the U.S. Olympic team.

After the success in Sydney, DSS continued to expand its coordination and preparation for the Olympics and similar events. It initiated an exchange program for the host country’s police forces during the years preceding the next Olympics, and DS created a security event training program to coordinate protective security.

Throughout the next two decades, DSS has continued to solidify its role in security and protection at the Games, harnessing new techniques and technologies to ward off potential security incidents and ensure a smoothly running and safe venue at the games.

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After September 11, 2001, the U.S. government approach to Olympic security changed dramatically. The U.S. Secret Service was designated the lead security planner for all domestic special events, including the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games.  However, within the increasing global threat environment, DSS developed a newly enhanced approach to Olympic security overseas; under the authority of Presidential Directive 62, DSS was designated by the National Security Council as the lead agency responsible for coordinating security assistance and support to those nations hosting the Olympic Games overseas.

In 2001, the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee signed an agreement guaranteeing and protecting the organization of the Paralympic Games and ensuring that, from the Beijing 2008 Games onwards, the Paralympic Games would always be held shortly after the Olympic Games and use the same sporting venues, facilities and Athletes’ Village, and that entry fees and travel costs would be covered to the same extent.  Every future host city from that point on would organize both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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In 2010, DSS led the 150-member U.S. government interagency security program for the Vancouver Winter Olympics and Paralympics. During that year, DSS signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding with the committee, formalizing the DSS protection responsibilities for Team USA during major international events.

DSS continued to lead U.S. interagency security efforts at the London 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. That year, a new DSS social media analytical unit played a major role supporting the DSS protective mission at the Games. The unit addressed the growing number of threats received via social media.

DSS began planning three years in advance to prepare for the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia. Fears of a terrorist attack were heightened following a bombing in Volgograd just prior to the start of the Games. In addition, the tense political climate between the United States and Russia made security planning even more challenging. The security operations at the interagency Joint Operations Center marked the first time that a U.S. Olympic command center had access to live, direct feeds of security video and sensory information in real time.

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Since the 1990s, another important resource has been the DSS Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), a free public-private sector partnership available to all U.S.-incorporated organizations operating overseas. Leading up to and throughout each of the Games, OSAC holds online and in-person briefings, issues regular situation reports, and hosts a dedicated communications channel to help keep security representatives from U.S. private sector organizations at the Games connected with DSS and each other for enhanced risk mitigation and threat management capabilities.

The DSS role in security also has sometimes extended beyond the actual Games themselves. In 2008, for example, DSS provided protection for China’s ambassador to the United States and an official delegation of Chinese Olympic organizers during the Olympic Torch Run in San Francisco leading up to the 2008 Games in Beijing. DSS also deployed 60 special agents for the ceremony.

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Fast forward to 2024: all the security advances over the past 38 years have set the stage for a safe and well-managed security operation during the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in France.

“We are confident in our collaboration with French law enforcement and in our coordination with U.S. federal law enforcement to make sure Team USA competes in a safe and secure environment,” said Smith.

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Visitors traveling to the Games are encouraged to visit the U.S. Embassy Paris Special Events webpage to learn about travel requirements, cultural considerations, and to enroll in our Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).

 



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