Olympic Games Paris 2024

"Through these Carrés des supporters, millions of French people will be behind them": at the Paris 2024 Games, the show will also be there in the stands

By Florian Burgaud
4 min|
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Picture by 2024 Getty Images

During the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Carrés des supporters will set the mood in the venues' stands. Set up by the organisers in collaboration with the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) and the French Paralympic and Sports Committee (CPSF) - and sponsored by EDF - they won't stay quiet during the hundreds of sessions of the Olympic and Paralympic programmes.

"I'm starting to realise what's going to happen, there's apprehension and excitement." Fabian Tosolini has been appointed atmosphere leader for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which are about to get underway on Thursday, July 24. As France prepares to host the world's biggest sporting event for the first time in 100 years, an exceptional and unprecedented scheme has been put in place: the Carrés des supporters, sponsored by EDF.

Discussed in 2019, the idea of setting up fan zones in each of the arenas was revived in 2023 by the Paris 2024 organisational teams, the CNOSF and the CPSF. "The initial challenge was to identify the ideal place in each of the competition venues to set up a Carrés des supporters, Victor Dechelette, Public Engagement Manager at Paris 2024, explains. The idea was to find a good compromise between the category of seats, the positioning of the area in relation to the axis of the cameras and its proximity to the field of play."

Picture by Paris 2024

Nearly 1,000 atmosphere leaders

Once the various sectors had been determined, ticket holders were contacted by email last December. The aim was to inform them of the Carrés des supporters and encourage them to join. "In addition to that, there are atmosphere leaders, ticket collectors financed by the Ministry of Sports and the CNOSF, he continues. Identified from existing supporter groups, licence holders or former athletes, they are around 1,000 people responsible for getting the atmosphere going." Among them will be the 2016 Olympic sailing champion Pierre Le Coq and former swimmer Coralie Balmy.

It is in this role that Fabian Tosolini, a 44-year-old member of the board of the Irrésistibles Français, the largest association of supporters of the French football team, is stepping in. Tosolini, who is also a volunteer at the Eiffel Tower Stadium, will be present throughout the Olympic fortnight, cheering on volleyball, judo - particularly on the day when a certain Teddy Riner is involved - climbing, swimming, basketball 3x3 and gymnastics.

Picture by Paris 2024

"My passion, from the outset, was sport and the Games, he says, and later shed a tear when Paris was officially designated city host of the 2024 Games in Lima, Peru, in 2017. Helping athletes to surpass themselves and give the best of themselves is something I dreamed of doing. We really want to contribute to this great celebration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games."

Carré des supporters to "light the fuse"

For a leader like Fabian Tosolini, the aim will be to heat up the Carré des supporters, "to light the fuse" as he likes to say. With one goal: "To ensure that the French athlete who wasn't hoping to get out of the qualifiers can do so, and that the one who could potentially win a silver medal can win gold, says the man from the Paris region. However, and this is important to highlight it, we don't put any pressure on the athletes. We're here to make them feel good and help them feel supported. Through these Carrés des supporters, millions of French people will be behind them."

These Carrés will not only be set up for the competitions in which the French team will be represented, but will also contribute to the festive atmosphere of the Games during each of the sessions. Naturally, when the French team is present, the atmosphere will be even more intense.

Picture by Paris 2024

A total of 734 Olympic sessions and 240 Paralympic sessions will be covered by the Carrés des Supporters. A total of 148,000 people will pass through the Carrés during the Olympic period, and almost 50,000 during the Paralympic Games. "Depending on the size and acoustics of the stadium, they will be larger or smaller. The aim will also be, sometimes, to wake up the halls", concludes Fabian Tosolini, who had the honour of carrying the Olympic Flame at the beginning of July.

Carrés des supporters explained