2024 Summer Olympics: 26 July to 11 August
Paris, France, will play host in 2024 to the 33rd Summer Olympics, becoming the second city after London to host the Olympics on three occasions. This year’s Games will feature 32 sports encompassing 329 events and will be the first Olympics to feature an identical number of male and female athletes. It will also be the first Summer Olympics since 1960 to have fewer events than the previous edition. This year will see the addition of 5 new sports, including breaking, skateboarding, surfing, kayak cross and sport climbing. The US and China will be favoured to top the medals table, much like they did in the 2020 Summer Olympics (which were held in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic).
Check out all you need to know about the 2024 Paris Olympics:
Dates
The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics will run from 26 July to 11 August 2024. After these Olympics are completed, the Paris 2024 Paralympics will be held from 28 August to 8 September 2024.
How was Paris awarded the 2024 Summer Olympics?
Paris was chosen as the host city for the 2024 Summer Olympics by the International Olympic Committee in September 2017, when its only remaining rival, Los Angeles, agreed to wait another four years to be the host city. Paris last hosted the Olympics in 1924, exactly 100 years ago.
Where will events be hosted?
Events at the 2024 Olympics will be staged in 35 venues across Paris, Ile-de-France, mainland France and overseas. Some notable venues include Parc des Princes (soccer), Roland Garros Stadium (boxing and tennis), the Eiffel Tower Stadium (beach volleyball), Stade de France (athletics and rugby sevens) and Teahupo'o in Tahiti (surfing).
New Events
As mentioned, 5 new sports will debut at the 20024 Olympics: skateboarding, surfing, kayak cross, sport climbing and breaking. The latter is a competitive form of breakdancing that blends artistry and dance with acrobatic moves. Karate, which debuted at Tokyo in 2020, has been dropped along with baseball-softball (this sport will return at Los Angeles 2028).
Sports to Keep an Eye On
These are some of the most popular sports that will feature at the 2024 Paris Olympics:
- Athletics
- Swimming
- Tennis
- Basketball
- Boxing
- Rugby Sevens
- Football
- Golf
Opening Ceremony
Unlike previous years, where there has been a traditional opening ceremony in a stadium, Paris 2024 has planned a river parade along 6 km of the River Seine, ending at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Global audiences will join some 300,000 spectators who will watch from the banks of the Seine. The Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony will start at 7:30 p.m. on 26 July 26.
Famous Athletes Participating
A host or world-renowned athletes are set to participate in the 20224 Paris Olympics and considerably raise the profile and status of the tournament. These athletes include:
- Lebron James - the US National Basketball Association’s (NBA) all-time leading scorer returns for his fourth Olympics appearance, and his first appearance since 2012.
- Simone Biles- considered one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, Biles will make her third straight appearance at the Summer Games.
- Rafael Nadal – the 22-time grand slam champion, known as the “King of Clay”, will team up with new Spanish tennis sensation and current French Open and Wimbledon champion, Carlos Alcaraz, to play doubles for Spain.
Russian Athletes Participation
Due to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided that Russian and Belarusian athletes cannot take part in team competitions. However, the IOC says that these athletes can participate as neutrals, but without flags or anthems being played. They will also be excluded from taking part in the opening ceremony.
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