Durban — The 2024 Paris Olympic Games begin on Friday and will see the world’s best athletes on the biggest stage competing for their countries.
The event will run from July 26 to August 11 and will be followed by the Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8.
For the first time in the history of the Olympic Summer Games, the opening ceremony, on Friday, will not take place in a stadium but in the heart of the city, on the River Seine. The parade will depart from the Austerlitz bridge and complete a 6km journey to the Trocadero for the ceremony’s finale.
Athletes on board the 85 parade boats will get glimpses of some of the city’s world-famous sights such as the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.
More than 220 000 spectators will have free access to the upper banks of the Seine, and about 3 000 performers will be involved at various locations throughout Paris.
A total of 10 500 athletes from 206 national Olympic committees will take part in 32 codes of sports and 329 events. Paris 2024 chose to add sport climbing, surfing, skateboarding and breaking at the event, which will be firsts for the Olympics.
This week, athletes began arriving at their “home away from home” at the Olympic Village, which officially opened its doors in Paris.
The majority of the athletes will stay in the main 54-hectare village, located on the banks of the River Seine in the north of the host city. Athletes’ villages in Châteauroux, Lille, Marseille and Tahiti will also host competitors in the shooting, basketball (preliminary round), handball, sailing and surfing events.
The village has 2800 apartments designed to accommodate four to eight athletes each and equipped with shared bathrooms and living areas. It also features the village’s main dining hall located in the Cité du Cinéma. This 3200-seat restaurant offers a broad menu that responds to the nutritional needs of high-level athletes. Another 600-seat, worldfood restaurant will be available on the island of Île Saint-Denis and will offer a salad bar and an outside grill. There will also be food trucks in the village. The village also has a 24-hour gym, a polyclinic, a multifaith centre and a small supermarket.
For the first time in the history of the Summer Games, all the medal winners will be invited to meet and celebrate with thousands of fans at Trocadéro, in the heart of Paris.
Positioned at Trocadéro, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, Champions Park will be the go-to destination for fans to meet up with and celebrate the medal-winning athletes.
The programme will also include performances by artists and cultural activities and live screenings of the day’s major sporting moments.
Sunday Tribune