After months of anticipation, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the Seine River today, fulfilling a promise she made months ago to show the river is clean enough to host open-swimming competitions during the 2024 Olympics — and the opening ceremony on the river nine days away.

Clad in a wetsuit, Hidalgo plunged into the river near the imposing-looking City Hall, her office, and the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet and the top government official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, joined her.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo swims in the Seine river. (AP)

“The water is very, very good. A little cool, but not so bad,” Hidalgo said upon emerging.

It’s part of a broader effort to showcase the river’s improved cleanliness ahead of the Summer Games which will kick off July 26 with a lavish open-air ceremony that includes an athletes’ parade on boats on the Seine.

Daily water quality tests in early June indicated unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria, followed by recent improvements.

Since 2015, organizers have invested heavily — $US1.5 billion ($2.2 billion) — to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and to ensure Parisians have a cleaner river in the years after the Games.

The plan included constructing a giant underground water storage basin in central Paris, renovating sewer infrastructure, and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.

Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet and the top government official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, joined her. (AP)

Despite being a recurring promise among politicians, swimming in the Seine has been banned for over a century.

Jacques Chirac, the former French president, made a similar pledge in 1988 when he was Paris mayor, but it was never realized.

Hidalgo will follow in the footsteps of French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, who swam in the Seine on Saturday wearing a full-body suit.

Originally planned for June, Hidalgo’s swim was postponed due to snap parliamentary elections in France.

On the initial date, the hashtag “jechiedanslaSeine” (“I’m pooping in the Seine”) trended on social media as some threatened to protest the Olympics by defecating upstream.

Hidalgo’s swim was postponed due to snap parliamentary elections in France. (AP)

Concerns over the Seine’s flow and pollution levels have persisted, prompting daily water quality tests by the monitoring group Eau de Paris.

Results in early June indicated unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria, followed by recent improvements.

The Seine will host several open water swimming events during the Games, including marathon swimming at the Olympic Games and the swimming legs of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlons.

You May Also Like

After Peach Bowl run-in, Abdul Carter and Jaxson Dart join forces on Giants

The hit was made, and also an impression. Abdul Carter, meet Jaxson…

Dutton stands by candidate over controversial posts

A spat has erupted as the Federal Election campaign enters its final…

Latrell Mitchell faces ban for high shot as Souths count the cost of narrow Anzac Day loss to Melbourne Storm

Storm edged out the Rabbitohs 24-16  Mitchell was sin-binned for 10 minutes…

John Kerry bristles as MSNBC host points out Russia took Crimea on his watch under Obama

Former Secretary of State John Kerry took a defensive posture after an…