Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Bercy Arena ready for the challenge

A world-class performance venue, the Bercy Arena (the name that will replace the Accor Arena for the duration of the Games) will be hosting four events this summer as part of the Paris 2024 Games. The versatility of this venue will be a precious asset in enabling the athletes to compete on ideal terrain.

Time goes by and the Bercy Arena celebrates its fortieth anniversary this year. It is clear that this site, which will become an Olympic and Paralympic venue during the emotional summer of 2024, has become an emblematic venue for culture and sport in France and internationally. Conceived in the 1970s, the project to build a sports hall by Paris City Council became a reality on 3 February 1984 with the inauguration of the Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy (POPB). Recognisable by its pyramid shape and sloping lawns, this arena has been hosting prestigious concerts and, above all, major sporting events for four decades.

A sporting soul

Renamed Bercy Arena for the duration of the Games, this venue, which can hold up to 20,000 people, has earned itself a place in the sporting landscape. Hosting Olympic and Paralympic events is a fitting return. Here's a (non-exhaustive) list of the events that have taken place here, testifying to the sporting renown of the venue:

• Athletics: 1994 and 2011 European Championships, 1997 World Championships
• Basketball: Pro A and Pro B finals, French cup and armchair basketball finals, NBA Europe Live Tour
• BMX: 2005 world championship
• Horse riding: international jumping
• Climbing: 2012 and 2016 World Climbing Championships
• Gymnastics: French International Gymnastics Championships
• Handball: Men's World Championships 2001 and 2017, Women's World Championships 2007, Women's European Championship 2018, Men's and Women's French Cup Finals
• Ice hockey: French Cup finals since 2007
• Judo: Paris Tournament, 2011 World Judo Championships
• Figure skating: 1989 World Championships, 1997 European Championships, Trophée de France since 1987
• Tennis: Paris-Bercy Masters 1,000
• Wheelchair rugby: 2023 International Wheelchair Rugby Cup.

A logistical challenge in less than 20 hours for Bercy Arena

Renovated in 2015, the POPB has expanded its offer and improved the spectator experience by making the venue ever more versatile. The Olympic and Paralympic period will underline this advantage, as the Bercy Arena will have to switch from a gymnastics configuration to a basketball configuration in just a few hours. A challenge that does not frighten the various stakeholders who have been preparing for many months.

During the Games, the Bercy Arena will change face several times. Artistic gymnastics, trampoline, basketball and then wheelchair basketball - there are so many configurations to set up! To do this, the Paris 2024 teams, supported by their partners, will exploit the full modular potential of a site capable of hosting 24 different sporting disciplines as well as giant concerts over an area of almost 55,000 m².

In this context, 5 and 6 August will be crucial as the site switches from gymnastics mode to basketball mode. Needless to say, the timing will be tight when it comes to modulating the space! 19 hours and 45 minutes, not one more, will be needed to transform the Bercy Arena into a basketball arena after 10 days of hosting gymnasts and trampolinists.

A meticulous organisation

To succeed in this challenge, an army of small hands will be working in symbiosis to remove all the equipment and install the 420 m² basketball field of play. The stands will also have to be modified, increasing their capacity from 10,500 to 13,300 spectators. The warm-up areas will also be transformed, with the installation of two half basketball courts in a space that normally houses the Accor Arena ice rink. Other adaptations will have to be made to the height of the stadium, with the adjustment of lighting spots and the positioning of cameras. Not to mention all the signage and the look of the space, which will be transformed into a basketball configuration.

In all, almost 400 people will be involved in this rush, most of which will take place during the night of 5 to 6 August. With just a few weeks to go, the transition plan has been finalised so that the first match in the final stages of the basketball tournament, on 6 August at 11am (men's quarter-final), can be played as if nothing had happened.