Paris 2024 shopping extravaganza as fans snap up iconic Olympic memorabilia

Olympic athletes want medals, yes, but pins, too.

At every Olympic Games, athletes endeavour to take home the ultimate prize, an Olympic medal, but outside of the arena, a pin-swapping extravaganza takes place.

Many nations have their own specially designed pins, or badges, etched with their team's logo, their nation's flag, a much-thought-out design.

There are pins from sponsors, future Games' hosts, and commemorative pins, and athletes can't get enough of finding a missing pin from their collection, seeking out a favoured design, a favourite nation, or the hot Olympics pin that is difficult to come by du jour.

It's an Olympic sport of a different kind.

But for Olympic fans on the ground, the process is slightly easier – at least at the start before the fan pin-swapping begins.

Just head to one of the 150 local official Paris 2024 Olympic shops, including the 1,000m² megastore on the Champs Elysées, or one of the 30,000 outlets at locations such as metro stations, iconic tourist sites like the Eiffel Tower, but also further afield at other host cities, such as Lille, where basketball and handball matches are taking place.

It is at these official stores you'll find a plethora of pins available from a classic Paris 2024 Pin Badge to a Paris 2024 Olympics Mascot Eiffel Tower Pin Badge, to a gold Paris 2024 Pin Badge, to what must surely become a collector's piece, the quirky Paris 2024 Olympics City Pigeon Pin Badge.

There's a pin badge for each sport from swimming to athletics, judo and football, plus featuring iconic locations such as L'Arc de Triomphe.

The Olympics Team France Pin Badge will surely be one of the most collected pins of the XXXIII Olympiad, while athletes might want to wait until after they've finished competing before getting hold of the Paris 2024 Olympics Burger Pin Badge, to help avoid temptation.

Paris 2024 memorabilia available at official Olympic outlets

But it's not just pins that are available to fans to commemorate the Games in France's capital, starting 26 July.

To hold all the aforementioned pins, an Olympic branded bag might be a wise purchase, especially the canvas version where wily pin pushers can display their wares.

For the really successful, perhaps a holdall, backpack, or tote.

All in all, there are more than 6,000 items on offer to celebrate the Olympic Games Paris 2024, a particularly poignant occasion that sees the return of the fans after their necessary absence from Tokyo 2020.

The mascots for Paris 2024, the Phryges, based on the famous Phrygian cap – a symbol of freedom in France – feature heavily on Olympic branded ware as does the logo with the face of 'Marianne', the emblem of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

A big sporting occasion also wouldn't be complete without a Paris 2024 Album by Panini and there's even a Paris 2024 Olympics Mascot Plush Backpack complete with dangling mascot legs, the Paralympic version with a running blade, the first Olympic mascot to feature a disability.

Caps to shield the sun's rays from those who may be sitting in the stands at open-air venues like the urban sports park, La Concorde, will also be available, enabling a better view of 3x3 basketball, skateboarding, BMX Freestyle, and the one new sport for Paris 2024 of breaking, in the central Paris location, overlooked by the iconic Eiffel Tower.

Conversely, branded ponchos and umbrellas are available should there be a summer shower.

Iconic posters, such as the dream-like version of a stadium-city that enhances the slogan 'Games Wide Open' and features the more than 40 Olympic and Paralympic sports, will be a keepsake for fans of their experience, framed on the wall at home, raising a smile in memory after the excitement inevitably fades.

Olympic fans stock up ahead of Paris 2024

Olympics.com caught up with the Bedel family from Denmark, dad Matthias, mum Elisabeth, and daughters Katrine, 13, and Astrid, 11, as they emerged from the megastore on the Champs Elysee to see what they'd been buying.

"We bought a polo shirt, a cap and a mug," said Matthias. "We got two key rings for those two," indicating his daughters. "A polo for me, and we're still looking for you," he said of Elisabeth. Did you not see any tops that you liked, we asked. "Yes," replied mum with a smile. "Too many. I couldn't decide."

Daisy Zhang from Chongqing, People's Republic of China, opted for a fridge magnet and a small mascot to put in her schoolbag, while Aidan Roistacher of North Carolina, USA, who was with his aunty from New York, "got a little bit of everything".

Two T-shirts, lots of magnets, a mascot, a sweatshirt, and obviously he needed to get a bag to hold it all in. "I have a bunch of people back at home that are jealous that we're here so got a little something for everybody."

More kind-hearted Olympic souls thinking of others are Nicholas, donning his new Paris 2024 cap but also "a couple of shirts, one for me and one for my girlfriend", while sister, Emily was clutching two tote bags. "One's for my nan who was with us on the trip but broke her knee so had to go home early," she revealed.

Christina Huang, a teacher from Canada in the same party, showed us an image of her three sons from 12 years ago, wearing London 2012 T-shirts, bought for them by their godfather who was working at the Games. Her twins are now 17 and her younger son is 16. "We bought T-shirts as I thought it would be really cute to recreate the photo," she said, prompting an eyeroll and a smile from one of her sons.

"The star products are the mascot keyrings," shop worker, Maylis Martin, told Le Monde. "Children are crazy about the Phryges. Plus, it's still a mascot, so people want it."

The pins, too, were already a big hit, with a perhaps unlikely version proving the most popular at that stage – the pigeon – the somewhat humorous symbol of Paris, perhaps showcasing the playful nature of fans as they return to the feel-good utopia of the Olympic Games.

And who wouldn't want a reminder of that?

All shops are listed here, including the Megastore on the Champs Elysees, and see here for the online shop.