Paris Olympics 2024 guide: Preview, venues, new events, torch, mascots, and how to watch live

By ZK Goh
7 min|
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Picture by 2024 Getty Images

The Olympic Games Paris 2024 promise un unforgettable experience.

It will be the third time the French capital hosts the Olympic Games after 1900 and 1924, and comes exactly a century after the last time the city staged the Games.

For 17 days, the world will be captivated by a showcase of athletic prowess and sportsmanship; excellence, friendship, and respect.

A total of 329 medal events will be held, with 35 venues hosting the Games events in Paris, the Île-de-France region, and across the rest of France.

Here’s what you need to know about Paris 2024.

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The Olympic Rings seen on the Eiffel Tower ahead of the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Picture by Kiran Ridley/Getty Images

When are the Olympic Games Paris 2024 happening? What is the Paris 2024 schedule?

The Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 take place on 26 July, with the Closing Ceremony on 11 August.

Competition begins on 24 July two days ahead of the Opening Ceremony, with preliminary rounds in archery, football, handball, and rugby sevens.

Swimming occurs during the first week of the Games from 27 July to 4 August, while track and field athletics takes place over the second week, beginning on 1 July and ending on 11 August with the marathon, traditionally the last event of the athletics programme.

You can find a full schedule here.

What venues will be used for Paris 2024?

There are three main areas that will host events during Paris 2024: the Paris Area, the Île-de-France Area, and the rest of France.

A mix of temporary venues in iconic locations, existing venues, and three new-build venues will play host to the Games, with only two of those new venues specifically built for the Olympic Games: the Olympic Aquatics Centre and Le Bourget Sport Climbing Centre.

Paris Area

There are 13 venues in the Paris Area. They are:

Île-de-France Area

The greater Île-de-France Area surrounds the capital city, and there are 12 venues in this zone.

These venues are located in towns from St-Quentin-en-Yvelines and Versailles southwest of Paris, to Nanterre west of the capital, Saint-Denis north of central Paris, and even out to Vaires-sur-Marne to the east.

Additionally, the Yves-du-Manoir Olympic Stadium northwest of Paris – which hosted the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 1924 Games a century ago and will welcome hockey matches this year – is also in this area.

The 12 venues in the Île-de-France Area are:

Rest of France

Throughout the rest of France, six football stadiums and four other venues will hold Olympic events.

Most notably, the famous wave at Teahupo‘o, Tahiti, holds the surfing events in the first week of the schedule.

The 10 venues throughout France are:

What new events will take place at Paris 2024?

Breaking makes its Olympic debut at Paris 2024, with B-Boys and B-Girls events due to take place.

There will also be new events in athletics, boxing, canoe slalom, sailing, shooting, and sport climbing.

They are:

  • Marathon race walk mixed relay (athletics) - replacing the men's 50km race walk event
  • One additional women's weight class (boxing) - replacing one men's weight class
  • Men's and women's kiteboarding events (sailing) - with the men's and women's two-person dinghy becoming a mixed event and the men's heavyweight dinghy event removed
  • Mixed skeet team (shooting) - replacing the mixed trap team event
  • Men's and women's Boulder & Lead combined, men's and women's speed (sport climbing) - replacing the men's and women's combined events

A total of 329 medal events are scheduled, down from 339 at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 held in 2021.

What does the Paris 2024 Olympic torch look like?

French designer Mathieu Lehanneur was commissioned to create the Games torch for Paris 2024.

The torch is perfectly symmetrical, representing the fact that Paris 2024 will be the first Olympic Games to achieve gender parity, with the same number of male and female athletes.

There are wave and three-dimensional vibration effects on the torch, reproducing water.

And the torch's curves and rounded lines represent peacefulness.

Find out more about the Paris 2024 torch here.

The Paris 2024 mascots

The mascots for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games of Paris 2024 are the Phryges, two characters based on the Phrygian cap worn in France for centuries.

France's National Archives show records of Phrygian caps being worn as far back as 1163, when the Notre-Dame cathedral was being built in Paris. The caps are considered a symbol of freedom, of revolution, and of the French Republic itself.

Discover all about the Phryges here.

How to watch the Olympic Games Paris 2024

All the action from the Olympic Games can be watched and streamed via the official Media Rights Holder in your country or territory.

These include, but are not limited to:

  • Australia: Nine Network
  • Brazil: Globo
  • Canada: CBC, TSN, RDS
  • Mainland People's Republic of China: China Media Group (CCTV)
  • Europe: Eurosport, further available on local free-to-air broadcasters
  • France: France Télévisions
  • Germany: ARD, ZDF
  • India and Subcontinent: Viacom18
  • Indonesia: Emtek
  • Italy: RAI
  • Japan: Japan Consortium (NHK, Fuji TV, Nippon TV, TBS, TV Asahi, TV Tokyo)
  • Middle East and North Africa: beIN Sports
  • New Zealand: SKY NZ
  • Philippines: Cignal TV, TV5
  • South Africa: SABC, SuperSport
  • Republic of Korea: SBS, KBS, MBC
  • United Kingdom: BBC
  • United States: NBC Universal

Discover more here. Additionally, you can follow all the action from Paris on the official website, with previews, medal reviews, and a live blog during the Games.

How to buy tickets for the Olympic Games

It's not too late to enjoy the action up close. Although some sessions are already sold out, new tickets for a host of sports will be available every Thursday, with prices starting from €15. Visit the Paris 2024 ticketing page for more information.