Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Week set to be out of this world
Around 700,000 young people in France will take part in this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Week (Semaine Olympique et Paralympique [SOP]), championed by renowned astronaut Thomas Pesquet.
Taking place from 24 to 29 January, the initiative, spearheaded by Paris 2024 and the French Ministry of Education, will see just under 2,000 activities organised in around 4,700 schools across the country.
The sixth edition of this annual event will focus on the promotion of physical activity at school – a key legacy that the Organising Committee is aiming to create for the host nation.
In addition to Pesquet tuning in on social media to encourage children to take part in the initiative, a host of Olympians, Paralympians and other special guests will inspire young people across the country throughout the week.
They will be challenging students to move more to combat increasingly sedentary lifestyles amongst young people.
This is based on the World Health Organization’s recommendation for children and adolescents aged 5 to 17 to undertake at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day. Noting that more than 80 per cent do not currently reach this target, the French Ministry of Education and Paris 2024 launched the "30 minutes of physical activity per day" scheme in primary schools.
This measure was first promoted during the SOP last year when, from 3 to 8 February, despite the COVID-19 health restrictions, more than 3,000 primary and secondary schools and higher education institutions engaged more than 500,000 young people from around 18,000 classes. A total of 1,500 projects were created as part of the initiative.
With fewer than 1,000 days to go to the Games, the SOP is another important engagement activity that is fundamental to Paris 2024’s commitment to create a lasting legacy beyond the Olympic and Paralympic Games
Further information on Paris 2024’s SOP can be found on its website, including a Media Pack which can be accessed here (French only).