Paris 2024 celebrates 1000 days to go with mass race against double marathon champ Kipchoge

3 min|

The French capital will stage the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games on 26 July 2024, and is celebrating the milestone with a mass-participation marathon featuring Eliud Kipchoge.

We might have only just celebrated the Olympic Games of Tokyo 2020, and have turned our attention to winter sports ahead of Beijing 2022 in under 100 days.

But the host city of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, Paris, is itself celebrating a big milestone today (30 October) – 1000 days to the Opening Ceremony of Paris 2024 and the official start of festivities on 26 July 2024.

In three years' time, Paris will become just the second city to host the (summer) Olympic Games three times after London (which staged the 1908, 1948 and 2012 Olympic Games).

The French capital previously hosted the second modern Games, in 1900, as well as in 1924.

To mark the occasion, double Olympic champion, world record holder, and sub-two-hour marathoner Eliud Kipchoge is taking part in a mass marathon with 2000 members of the public on the streets of Paris on Sunday (31 October).

The pursuit-style marathon sees participants divided up based on their ability with the slowest setting off first and fastest last. Kipchoge will then start last with a time penalty and attempt to catch whoever he can.

Anyone finishing ahead of the Kenyan will be entered into the mass public participation marathon in 2024, on the same course and on the same day as the Olympic race.

While there will be events all over the city in 2024 – and indeed, the world, with surfing expected to take place in the French Polynesian overseas collectivity of Tahiti – the urban sports park is expected to be based in the capital's largest public square, Place de la Concorde.

Organisers hope the venue will welcome up to 37,000 people daily for competitions (in breaking, BMX freestyle, skateboarding, and 3X3 basketball) as well as entertainment – with concerts, exhibitions, and sports demonstrations all planned to take place at the Concorde Urban Park.