Sports fans, it’s time to brush up on your French. The Olympic and Paralympic Games are coming to the City of Lights this year. It’s been a century since the French last hosted the Olympics and they are planning to go all out.
For the first time ever, the opening ceremony will not take place in a stadium. Instead, the parade of 10,500 athletes will be on boats on the Seine River, winding from east to west with the six-kilometer route ending in front of the Trocadéro. The best part is there is no admission fee for spectators.
While Paris is the main host, 16 cities are participating plus one subsite in Tahiti — an island within the French overseas country — where the surfing events, including newcomers kitesurfing, mixed 470 (a two-person dinghy event) and offshore sailing — will take place.
Other new categories include breakdancing, a new women’s weight class in boxing and skeet shooting. The mixed team walking race will make its Olympic debut at Paris 2024.
The event kicks off with the flame’s arrival in Marseille before continuing for the whole summer through to the Sept. 8 closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games, which take place over 11 days and will feature 4,400 of the world’s most outstanding Paralympic athletes participating in 22 sports including wheelchair rugby, badminton, table tennis, blind football and numerous swimming events, among others.
Visit paris2024.org