Paris, the capital of France, is always buzzing. But the city will be even more so with the 2024 Summer Olympics, which it is hosting. Paris 2024 is doing everything possible to ensure that the Olympic and Paralympic Games run smoothly. Perfection and practicality are the keywords.
Indeed, more than 30 disciplines will be within a radius of fewer than 10 km (around 6.2 miles) from the Olympic Village, and 85% of the athletes will be only 30 minutes away from their competition venues. What are these sites and when will the games start? Zoom on the locations of the events and the main dates of the 2024 Olympics.
1 – The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and throughout France
The sites and locations of competitions were validated by the Board of Directors of Paris last year. There are more than thirty sites, mainly concentrated in the capital, but not only. Indeed, the outskirts of the city, as well as other cities, regions, and even overseas counties, will also host the Games.
1 – Places and events in Paris
The Seine: for the first time in the history of the Summer Olympics, the opening ceremony will take place outside a stadium. The organizers have planned a 6-kilometer circuit with more than 600 000 spectators present along the river.
The Eiffel Tower Stadium: the garden at the base of the French monument will become a temporary arena. The garden of the Champ-de-Mars will be developed into an open-air stadium. It will host beach volleyball competitions in the Olympics and blind football for the Paralympics.
The Champ-de-Mars Arena, which forms a 10,000 temporary square meter facility to replace the Grand Palais during its closure. For these last uses, the arena will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games with the disciplines of judo, wrestling, para judo, and wheelchair rugby.
The Grand Palais: this site located on the edge of the Champs-Élysées will be the stage for the taekwondo and fencing competitions. It is an emblematic place of Parisian culture that has hosted in the past many exhibitions, fashion shows, and concerts.
AccorHotels Arena (formerly Paris Bercy): this venue with its pyramid shape and multifunctional hall in the 12th district is an emblematic site of French sports. Since the end of the ’90s, this site has hosted countless renowned sports events from basketball to handball. It is now getting ready to host the basketball, artistic gymnastics, and trampoline disciplines for the 2024 Olympic Games.
The Arena Porte de la Chapelle: this brand new site is eco-designed to respect the commitments for sustainable Games (north of the capital). This multi-sport complex in the 18th district will be the venue for badminton and rhythmic gymnastics for the 2024 Games. Para badminton and para powerlifting will be the disciplines that this site will host for the Paralympic Games.
The Esplanade des Invalides: the vast green space in front of the Hôtels des Invalides will be transformed into a large-scale competition field to host the Olympic discipline of archery. This will bring a sporting touch to the history of this place.
La Concorde: this place will be the center of urban sports during the Paris Olympic Games. Because the Olympic sport has reinvented itself with the Tokyo games, those of Paris also follow the trend. By that, breakdance, 3×3 basketball, BMX freestyle, and skateboarding will be in the spotlight for the 2024 games. The square of the Concorde will have to be the object of some temporary arrangements to welcome these sports.
The Bridge of Iéna: this bridge that spans over the Seine is 155 meters long and 35 meters wide. Its size will allow the organization of the games to create an emblematic track. Indeed, the bridge is located at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, the site constitutes a unique game setting. For the first time, the Iéna Bridge will be the scene of triathlon, road cycling, athletics, and open water swimming events.
The Roland Garros stadium is known to all tennis fans. Nothing could be more gratifying for this site than to host the tennis disciplines in the 2024 Olympic Games. But the Roland Garros stadium is not limited to its core discipline, as it will also host the boxing events at the Olympic Games, the sitting volleyball events, and the wheelchair tennis events at the Paralympics.
The Parc des Princes is during the year the stadium of the main soccer club of the capital, the Paris Saint-Germain. Its configuration has allowed it to host several soccer events such as PSG matches, the 98 World Cup, and the Euro 2016. For the year 2024, the stadium of Paris will have the honor to host the Olympic soccer teams.
The Arenas of Paris Sud, (namely Arena Sud 1, Arena Sud 4, and Arena Sud 6)will change their habit and make way for sports games instead of exhibitions and conventions. These three complexes will be combined in the same area to host respectively the volleyball and boccia (Paralympic) games for Arena Sud 1. Table tennis and para-table tennis will be held in Arena Sud 4, and weightlifting and basketball games will be held in Arena Sud 6.
2 – Places and events in Ile-de-France (Suburbs of Paris)
The La Courneuve shooting range, the hydrocarbon storage center of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, will be decontaminated and renovated with three temporary facilities for the shooting and para-shooting events during the 2024 Games.
The Stade Yves-du-Manoir will host the Olympic Games for the second time. This stadium in Colombes will be modernized for the Olympic field hockey events.
The city of Saint-Denis:
- The Stade de France: this stadium will also have its share of games. The largest stadium in France will host athletics and rugby events, but also para-athletics. (This stadium was built for the 1998 soccer world cup).
- Climbing events: the city will also have the chance to host the first climbing events. Indeed, freshly admitted to the Olympic program, these events will be done for the first time in France, in Saint-Denis, with five climbing walls.
- The Swimming Park: the city of Saint-Denis will also host the swimming park of the 2024 games with a sustainable construction made of carbon and bio-sourced materials (although the installation is the source of many controversies). The artistic swimming, diving, and water polo events will take place there. Another Olympic pool will also be built in the Arena de la Défense.
- The Olympic Village will also be in the city of Saint-Denis and will be an integral part of the city after the Games.
The Château de Versailles will serve as an Olympic circuit for the equestrian and modern Pentathlon competitions.
In Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, the Golf competitions will also be held at the Golf National site and the BMX race in the dedicated stadium.
The Hill of Elancourt with its natural paths and circuits will host the mountain bike events for the Olympic Games. For track cycling, the events will take place in the national velodrome of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
The Stade Nautique of Vaires-sur-Marne is the new setting for canoeing and rowing games.
3 – Places and events all over France
The Olympic soccer competition will be held in several stadiums in Nantes, Bordeaux, Lyon, and Saint-Etienne, but also in Nice and Marseille. The latter will also host the sailing event on the Mediterranean
For the surfing events, the site of Teahupo’o in Tahiti will open its doors to the world. I invite you to read the previous article:2024 Paris Summer Olympics: 10 Fun Facts.
2 – Important dates of the 2024 Paris Olympics to know
As a reminder, France has organized, in total, five Olympic Games. The last games were those of 1992, the games of Albertville. (Paris 1900, 1924 / Chamonix 1924, Grenoble 1964 / Albertville 1992).
It was on September 13, 2017, during the session of the International Olympic Committee that the city of Paris obtained the award of the organization after its candidacy.
The handing over of the torches was done on Sunday, August 8, 2021, during the extinction of the fires in Tokyo. The torches were given to the organization of the French Olympic and Paralympic Games.
A relay is a flagship event of the game’s season. It should be noted that the torch relay is the arrival of the spirits of the Olympic Games. It includes that several relayers will make the route of routing to the host city. This symbolic stage of the flame will be done towards April 2024.
It is in 2023 that the course of this relay of the flame will be defined and the design of the torches that are Olympic and Paralympic will be unveiled in the same year. The tickets to attend the Olympic Games will be available around September 2023. As for the recruitment of volunteers, it will be done in 2022.
The dates of 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris will take place from July 26 to August 11, 2024. While, the Paralympic Games will take place from August 28 to September 8, 2024.
The candidature of France implies a commitment so that the organized games are of a modest and sustainable spirit in favor of which, the constructions of the sites will be eco-responsible. There are now less than 1000 days left before the arrival of D-day.
Organizers, as well as spectators and French, impatiently wait for this big party that will be the Olympic Games. I invite you to read two previous articles concerning the sport in France:
Photo Credit La Seine Olympique Paris 2021 @Florian Hulleu