Paris 2024
Why host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris?
Publié le 21/03/2024|Modifié le 04/03/2024
For France, the Games are not only a sporting encounter — they are an encounter with the world.
“As Paris hosts its first Paralympic Games a century after its last summer Olympics, the legacy of Pierre de Coubertin and Alice Milliat will once again present the world with the incomparable heritage of the City of Light.”
Establishing a new benchmark for the Olympics and Paralympics
The 2024 Paris Olympics are fully aligned with the defining challenges of our time: less energy-hungry and more budget-conscious, they will set an unprecedented standard in terms of social issues, inclusion and fairness.
By hosting these iconic Games, France is establishing a new frame of reference that will set a new standard for future sporting events held on French soil and all around the world.
This new set of standards for the Olympics and Paralympics will be defined by 7 key aspects.
As it hosts the rest of the world, France is showcasing the best of its natural, cultural, industrial and architectural heritage.
From the banks of the Seine to Place de la Concorde, from the Eiffel Tower to the Grand Palais to the Invalides, the competition has been held at iconic locations around the city, as well as in historic sporting venues such as Roland Garros, the Marseille Marina and the waves of Teahupo’o. The two opening ceremonies, held for the first time outside of a stadium, are an opportunity to make sport the beating heart of the City.
In addition to the City of Light, the entire breadth and diversity of France’s landscapes, from the Marseille coastline to the Alps, is showcased over the course of 3 months via the Olympic and Paralympic torch relay.
From the banks of the Seine to Place de la Concorde, from the Eiffel Tower to the Grand Palais to the Invalides, the competition has been held at iconic locations around the city, as well as in historic sporting venues such as Roland Garros, the Marseille Marina and the waves of Teahupo’o. The two opening ceremonies, held for the first time outside of a stadium, are an opportunity to make sport the beating heart of the City.
In addition to the City of Light, the entire breadth and diversity of France’s landscapes, from the Marseille coastline to the Alps, is showcased over the course of 3 months via the Olympic and Paralympic torch relay.
The 2024 Paris Olympics are the first Games to align with the Paris Climate Agreement: their carbon footprint is half that of previous editions.
In order to achieve this ambitious objective, meticulous efforts have been made at each stage of the event organisation cycle and for each major area of operations, from energy to transport to catering.
Through its “Event Climate Coaching” (Coach Climat Événement) initiative, France has enabled all organisers to evaluate the carbon footprint over the entire life cycle of the Games, from the construction of infrastructure to waste management.
Ushering the world’s largest sporting event into a new era also means ensuring that the 2024 Paris Olympics has been acting as a lever of substantial economic opportunity for local regions.
The Games involved the mobilisation of 180,000 jobs, while €5bn in public procurement contracts (issued by Paris 2024 and the SOLIDEO) will primarily benefit local businesses, with over 25% of contracts reserved for SMEs, micro-businesses and SSE structures.
To oversee the successful implementation of these measures, the first social Charter in the history of the Games was signed on 19 June 2018, bringing together all social partners involved.
In 1922, Paris hosted the first Olympics to include female athletes. Over a century later, Paris hosted history’s first gender-balanced Olympics, with equal numbers of male and female athletes represented.
This is a powerful symbol whose message is already taking shape in local regions, as the Government has supported the Paris 2024 initiative of naming 50% of sports facilities after women (currently the case for less than 1% of facilities).
France has set itself the major ambition of striving to ensure that the largest ever parasport event in History — with 549 contests being held, 2.8 million tickets on sale and 300 hours of direct broadcasting on French public TV — will completely transform the way in which society views disability and will change the lives of individuals with disabilities.
At a time when less than half of people with disabilities currently participate in sports, the Games indeed are a major lever for promoting sports and athletic pursuits among disability communities.
Budgetary restraint is one of the hallmarks of the organisation of these Games. To this end, the Organising Committee’s budget was made up of 96% private resources, in compliance with the principle “the Games finance the Games”.
France has also chosen a compact budgetary approach: 95% of sports venues used for the Games were in existing or temporary facilities.
Elsewhere, all public investment in the games were concentrated into permanent infrastructures which create a lasting legacy for the Games, to the benefit of the local areas involved and their communities.
Local and regional governments, who have long been actively engaged in promoting sport in France, have played a central role in the organisation of the Games. Foremost among them were the 73 host towns and cities that were holding Olympic events.
Local and regional communities represent one of the main pillars of the Games, and every French citizen was able to share in the passion of our champions’ achievements.
Showcasing French know-how and heritage
15,000 athletes
Athletes
205 Nations
Nations
878 events
Events
16 million
Visitors
4 billion
TV viewers
26,000
Journalists and media outlets
Source: Minister for Sport and the Olympic & Paralympic Games
Hosting the Olympic and Paralympic games means holding the world’s biggest event — the equivalent of 43 World Championships being held simultaneously. The Games are also the biggest outlet for media visibility on the planet: over 20,000 journalists will cover the event, and 4 billion TV viewers will watch the competitions.
During the four weeks of the Games, France will use this incomparable exposure to leave a lasting impression on viewers. This begins with the organisation of the two opening ceremonies, which uniquely will not take place inside a stadium, but rather on the banks of the Seine for the Olympics and at Place de la Concorde for the Paralympics.
However, France will also make an impression thanks to the iconic settings of the Games’ 36 competition sites. The 878 Olympic events will provide an opportunity to highlight the country’s sporting heritage, from the Parc des Princes to the mythical waves of Teahupo’o, as well as its cultural and historical heritage, from the Grand Palais to the Château de Versailles.
From 8 May to 26 July 2024, the Olympic torch has been travelling the country, highlighting the places and people that make France what it is. Followed by the Paralympic torch from 25–28 August, the Olympic flame’s arrival on French soil marked the beginning of a nationwide celebration.
Capitalising on the Games to accelerate our national transformation
In addition to the four weeks of competition, the Games provide a unique opportunity to accelerate our country’s transformation in several areas: employment, transport, accommodation, sporting facilities, urban development, etc.
The notion of “legacy” lies at the heart of the 2024 Paris Olympics project and has done since 2015 and the beginning of the candidature phase. The goal is to design the Games in such a way as to ensure they benefit local areas and French citizens in the long term.
This legacy will, first and foremost, be tangible: the infrastructures built to host the Games will have a long-term purpose for the local areas in which they are located and for their communities. This is particularly the case in Ile-de-France, and more specifically in Seine-Saint-Denis, which is notably hosting the athletes’ and media villages.
However, this legacy will also be intangible: the experience of hosting the 2024 Paris Olympics will support the transformation of our society, particularly in two priority areas: increasing rates of physical activity and participation in sports and inclusion for people with disabilities.