The Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024

Do dreams come true?

Another five months to go, and Paris will welcome the whole world for the eagerly awaited Olympic Games! The preparations for this sporting event in the French capital are in full swing!

While athletes, tourists and organizers are in preparation fever, some parisian residents are already planning to pack their bags to escape the tumult, fearing traffic restrictions, parking problems, security issues and crowds of tourists. The Olympic Games – for some a tremendous party, for others additional stress in their daily lives –opinions are divided.

Whether you belong to the first or second crowd, be prepared in either case. We are here to provide some facts. Let’s go!

Some dates to keep in mind

Paris Summer Olympic Games: 26 of July to 11 of August 2024

Opening Ceremony: 26 July (almost exactly 100 years after the 1924 Closing Ceremony, which was held on 27 July!)

The Olympic competitions for football and rugby: 24 July, two days before the Opening Ceremony.

Closure of the Olympiad: 11 August with a ceremony at Stade de France in Saint-Denis.

Paralympic Games : 28 August to 8 September

Opening ceremony: 28 August between Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysées

For those who love the hard facts, what to expect in numbers

• 15 million visitors
• 32 sports played
• 329 medals to give away
• 41 Olympic sites and 20 Paralympic sites
• 4 new disciplines such as breaking
• 150.000 new jobs
• 8.876 trees planted in the Olympic village

Opening Ceremony

For the first time ever, the Opening Ceremony for this  year’s event will not be held in a stadium. Instead it will be celebrated on the Seine, the river that runs through the heart of Paris. The city intents the ceremony to be magical and avant-garde, boasting a parade along the Seine in front of several hundred thousand people. The show is supposed to reveal to the world the most beautiful aspects about France and its capital.

6 kilometers is the length of the route for the opening ceremony:  From the Pont d’Austerlitz to the Pont d’Iéna, the parade of athletes on boats equipped with cameras (80 giant screens will be installed along the route), will be punctuated by artistic performances, culminating in a grand finale at the Trocadéro.

The Olympic village – the Village of Pleyel

Located in the immediate vicinity of the Stade de France and the future aquatic centre, the Olympic Village will be able to host the 15.000 participating athletes.

Situated on the banks of the Seine, in the borroughs of Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen and L’Île-Saint-Denis, the Athletes’ Village will extend over a total area of ​​50 ha, including 5.7 ha of water.

The Village will have the advantage of being located less than two kilometres from the two main competition sites of the Games, namely the Stade de France and the future Saint-Denis Aquatic Centre. 85% of athletes will take less than 25 minutes to reach their competition site. Comfortable, practical and covering a large area, it will be surrounded by a significant number of training sites (480), located less than 30 minutes away.

By 2024 the public transport service will make it an interconnection hub of major importance across the metropolis. Road accessibility will be just as convenient with the immediate proximity of the A86 and the A1. The centre of Paris, located 7 km from the Village, can be reached in around twenty minutes.

But the primary legacy left to local populations and communities will of course lie in the creation of a new “eco-city of the Seine loop”, based on new 3,500 housing units. The development of this large innovative territory will give rise to a diversified, pleasant, and multifunctional urban ensemble. It will be a critical aspect of the transformation of the Seine-Saint-Denis region that has already been underway for many years.

The true heart of the Games, the Village, brings together nearly 15.000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes from 206 nations during the event. It constitutes a real city, offering multiple services and numerous catering facilities, serving more than 700.000 meals.

And the competitions, where do they take place?

Paris

The Games in the capital promise an exciting spectacle, performed in exceptional settings designed for athletes, spectators and television viewers. In total, 15 competition venues for the Olympic Games and 11 for the Paralympic Games form a compact concept which brings together 21 Olympic sports (out of 32) and 14 Paralympic sports (out of 22) within a 10 km radius around the Village.

The sites include stadiums that are already existing, for example Roland Garros for tennis, or others that have been temporary constructed, such as the one at the Eiffel tower which will host the Volleyball.

Banlieue parisienne

The Games radiate all around the capital, in part taking place in the bordering regions Yvelines, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-et-Marne and Seine-Saint-Denis. At the heart of the project, la Seine-Saint-Denis hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Village, the Media Village, as well as six sports. Two Paralympic events provide the opportunity to particularly highlight the 93 département: the Paralympic marathon and para-cycling on the road.

Rest of France

Paris 2024 is the Games for all of France. The football tournament is played in six stadiums in other provinces: Bordeaux, Nantes, Lyon, Saint-Etienne, Nice, Marseille. The finals of the men’s and women’s handball tournaments take place in the European Metropolis of Lille, as do the qualifying matches for the basketball tournaments, while sailing takes up residence on the Mediterranean, in Marseille. For the first time in history, the Games even benefit overseas, with the Teahupo’o site in Tahiti, boasting the greatest waves in the world.

And afterwards – of interest for Relocators and those who are looking for a rental

2.200 family flats will be built in 2025 following the construction of the Athletes’ Village, including 900 special homes (for students, the elderly, social housing, etc.) and almost 130,000 m2 of office space.

Thanks for reading! Have a happy day
Britta and Natalie