Celebration, engagement and legacy key to having “Games Wide Open” next year, as Paris 2024 delivers report to IOC Session
With less than 300 days to go to the Olympic Games next year, Paris 2024 is already living up to its promise of “Games Wide Open”, as demonstrated by the Organising Committee’s presentation on the second day of the 141st International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session taking place in Mumbai, India.
More and more people are getting ready for the Games every day, and the positive energy around the project can be felt across its main pillars: celebration, engagement and legacy.
Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet said: “France is committed as never before. There is an enormous amount of energy from all the stakeholders in our country, and there is a lot of interest in the Paris 2024 Games. We are in the final straight. We are approaching this with a great deal of humility, determination and energy. We are convinced, more than ever, that sport is the universal language that can bring people together. France is prepared to organise the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, and all are going to be welcome in Paris next year.”
Celebration
In July and August, Paris 2024 celebrated one year to go to the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games respectively, welcoming Olympic and Paralympic athletes, unveiling the OMEGA countdown clock on the banks of the Seine in front of the Eiffel Tower, and hosting the Presidents of the IOC, Thomas Bach, and the International Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons.
On the same occasion, plans for over 200 Games-time celebration sites across France were revealed, and the Olympic and Paralympic torch was unveiled.
This was after details about the Olympic Torch Relay route were revealed, including the date for the flame lighting in Olympia, on 16 April 2024, and the flame’s arrival in France by boat in Marseille on 8 May, before it is taken by 10,000 torchbearers on a 68-day journey through 65 French towns, cities and territories.
Engagement
Equally important in ensuring operational readiness for the Games and continuing to engage stakeholders, 23 test events took place over the summer, allowing athletes to discover 14 venues in Paris, Marseille and even Tahiti. After over 312,000 candidates applied to become one of the 40,000 Games volunteers, some of them were called into action for the first time, with 1,297 volunteers involved during the test events.
Several meetings with key stakeholders such as Chefs de Mission, broadcasters, the press, marketing partners, French labour and trade unions and others have also taken place during this period. The support of the French public authorities has been particularly important to the success of the Games preparations, and the state has been participating every step of the way, beginning with French President Emmanuel Macron, who has taken part in a number of Games-related events.
The engagement of the commercial sector has been demonstrated with 32 of a total 53 domestic partners signing agreements since the beginning of the year.
The general public is on board too, with 72 per cent supporting the organisation of the Games according to a July poll, 7.2 million out of 10 million tickets already sold for the Olympic Games, and tens of thousands of people having applied to be Olympic torchbearers.
Legacy
In addition, pre-Games legacy in the promotion of physical activity has already materialised through programmes involving thousands of people, especially young people. The 1,2,3 Swim! Programme has expanded across the whole country in 2023, with 38 projects in place that have allowed more than 20,000 children to learn how to swim, a 400 per cent increase on last year.
Paris 2024 has successfully advocated a daily 30-minute physical activity period in French primary schools. The pilot was launched in September 2020 in Seine-Saint-Denis – the Games’ priority zone for regeneration, situated northeast of Paris, where the Olympic Village and new-build Aquatics Centre are located – and in two other districts. At the start of the 2022-23 academic year, the French Education Ministry began rolling out the initiative nationally for 4.2 million pupils.
A further 5,000 sports fields will be added to schools by the end of 2023, with more than 2,000 schoolyards renovated. The Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for Paris 2024, Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant, celebrated these achievements.
“Never before have we seen Games which plan to engage and involve the public in such a comprehensive way,” he said. “Club 2024 now has over 4 million members. We are all familiar with the innovative concept of the Opening Ceremony and how this will be open to members of the public on the banks of the River Seine.”
He added: “We also continue to learn more about other innovative concepts open to the public, such as the mass event running race held on the same course as that of the Olympic marathon on the last weekend of the Games. Paris will be the place of many firsts for the Games.”