Paris Summer Olympics 2024

Hot on the heels of Euro 2024 comes the Summer Olympics in Paris. These run from Friday 26th July 2024 to Sunday 11th August 2024.  Followed by the Paralympic Games (again in Paris) from Wednesday 28th August 2024 to Sunday 8th September 2024.

The 2024 Summer Olympics, also known as Jeux olympiques d’été de 2024, are officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad and formally branded as Paris 2024.

The motto of the Olympic Games consists of three Latin words: Citius – Altius – Fortius – meaning Faster – Higher – Stronger.

For the first time ever, the opening ceremony will be held in a stadium –  where the Parade of Athletes will take place on the River Seine with boats for each national delegation.

The closing ceremony will be held at Stade de France on Sunday 11th August 2024.

Paris is one of three cities to have hosted the Summer Games three times (in 1900, 1924 and 2024), the other two being London and Los Angeles. The next Olympic Games will be held in Los Angeles in 2028.

The Olympic Rings.

The Olympic Rings represent the five inhabited continents of Africa, America, Asia Europe and Oceania. The interlinked rings demonstrate the inclusiveness of the Games and how athletes from all over the world gather to compete. Antarctica is the only continent participating in the Games due to having such limited habitation.

The Olympic Torch Relay.

The Olympic Torch represents a symbol of unity and peace, spreading the spirit of the Games as it travels throughout France. From Marseille to Paris, the Olympic Torch Relay takes place over three months and also passes through French Overseas Territories.

Emblem for Paris 2024.

The emblem for the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics is inspired by Art Deco and is a representation of Marianne, the national personification of France, with a flame formed in negative space by her hair. The emblem also resembles a gold medal. And symbolises the power and magic of the Games, and that the Games are for everyone. The use of a female figure honours the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris – the first Games which allowed women to compete. For the first time, the 2024 Summer Paralympics will share the same emblem as the Olympic Games, with no variation, indicating a shared ambition between both events.

Mascots

The Phryges are the mascots of the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. A pair of anthropomorphic Phrygian caps, they are a historic French symbol of freedom and liberty. The two mascots share a motto of “Alone we go faster, but together we go further”.

Medals & Medal Events.

The Olympic and Paralympic medals feature embedded hexagon-shaped tokens of scrap iron which had been taken from the original construction of the Eiffel Tower with the Games logo engraved into it. The reverse of the medals features Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, inside the Panathenaic Stadium where the first modern Olympic  Games were held in 1896. The Parthenon and the Eiffel Tower can also be seen in the background on both sides of the medal.

Events.

There is a huge variety of sports featured at the Olympic Games. This year, Breaking (Break Dancing) will feature as an optional sport for the very first time. There will also be events in Skateboarding, Sport Climbing and Surfing which featured in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 for the first time. The events will be held across 35 venues, including French Overseas Territories.

Women and the Olympics.

Paris 1900 was the first Games which allowed women to participate in the competition. Paris 2024 will make history again by ensuring that there is an equal representation of male and female athletes. Achieving numerical gender parity. The journey to increase women’s participation has taken over a century. Tokyo 2020 gave women more opportunities than ever before to compete and introduced several new sports. Tokyo 2020 also implemented a rule allowing male and female athletes to jointly carry their flag during the Opening Ceremony for the first time ever. All of this paves the way for women in sports and will help Paris 2024 achieve its goal of full gender parity.

Enjoy!

Whatever you’re doing this summer, have fun watching the Olympics. It is a real test of skill, stamina and sheer determination for the athletes. Watch the best of the best, world records being broken, personal bests being achieved. And, you never know, you might just find yourself wanting to try a new activity!

Missed our post about the EUROs, have no fear.

By Sharon McMichael

Photo by Luca Dugaro Unsplash