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The opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics will take place 3,322 days after Paris officially announced its bid to host the Games. While the intervening period may not have been a lifetime, it will be the first time in a generation that the event has been held in the French capital, 100 years on from the last edition staged in the city.
At first glance, Paris 2024 is set to be comparatively incident-free when measured against recent editions of the world’s largest sporting gathering. The leadup to Rio 2016 was blighted by Brazil’s political and economic crisis, as well as fears about the Zika virus, while Tokyo 2020 eventually took place a year later than planned and without spectators under the shadow of Covid-19.
Preparations for this summer’s Olympics, though, have not been without setbacks, heaping further pressure on an event that must not only showcase the best of France and reaffirm the Games as one of sport’s most cherished occasions, but also help the International Olympic Committee (IOC) demonstrate its value to prospective future hosts.
With the 2024 Summer Olympics officially opening on 26th July, SportsPro casts its eye back over the best part of a decade to pull out the key moments in Paris’ hosting journey.
Tony Estanguet has served as president of the local organising committee since Paris was confirmed as host of the Olympic Games in September 2017 (Image credit: Getty Images)
23rd June 2015
Paris officially announces its bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games, having lost out to London for 2012 and failed with efforts to secure the 1992 and 2008 editions. Denis Masséglia, head of the French National Olympic Committee at the time, promises “a feasible and flexible Games concept”, while the capital’s mayor Anne Hidalgo says Paris will “aim to highlight the unity and the solidarity of a cosmopolitan city”.
It marks the start of a two-year host selection process that features rival proposals from the likes of Boston, Budapest, Hamburg, Los Angeles, Rome and Washington DC, as well as financial support from partners including Orange, BNP Paribas and Vivendi, among others.
31st July 2017
With Paris and Los Angeles left in the running, the US city accepts a deal to stage the 2028 Olympics, effectively confirming the French capital as host for 2024.
13th September 2017
Paris is unanimously elected as host of the 2024 Olympics at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru. In an unprecedented move, it is also confirmed that LA will stage the 2028 edition, marking the first time two summer Games have been awarded at once. Former slalom canoeist and three-time Olympic gold medallist Tony Estanguet, one of the leading figures in the French bid, will serve as president of the organising committee for the Games.
19th December 2017
Ground is broken on the Paris 2024 aquatics centre, which alongside the athletes village is one of only two new infrastructure projects built for the Games. Both form part of the urban regeneration of the Saint-Denis area, which is one of the main legacy targets of this summer’s Olympics.
All told, Paris 2024 plans to use 95 per cent temporary or existing infrastructure in an effort to keep costs down and make the event more sustainable than previous editions.
18th May 2020
The financial impact of Covid-19 prompts an organisational rethink, as Estanguet confirms he will look to cut costs across travel, accommodation and human resources in order to save “millions of euros”. He also calls the global pandemic an “opportunity” to reexamine the operations “behind the actions of the athletes”.
4th June 2020
With the budget for the Games standing at an estimated €6.8 billion (US$7.4 billion), the local organising committee commits to further steps to rework its delivery strategy and reduce costs in the wake of Covid-19.
“The current context and the unprecedented crisis we are experiencing means we need to go even further in the directions we choose together,” says Estanguet.
8th December 2020
It is confirmed that breaking will make its Olympic debut. The competition will be held at the Place de la Concorde, which is also staging three-on-three basketball, BMX freestyle and skateboarding, marking the first time at an Olympics that urban sports are being grouped together in an urban location in a deliberate move by the IOC to try to reach a younger audience.
20th May 2022
Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, a businesswoman and former professional tennis player, is appointed minister for sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, replacing Roxana Maracineanu.
28th May 2022
Concerns arise over Paris’ ability to hold an event of the size and scale of the Olympics after chaotic scenes during the 2022 Uefa Champions League final at the Stade de France, which is staging the Games’ closing ceremony, as well as athletics and rugby sevens.
A subsequent report states that Uefa, European soccer’s governing body, bore ‘primary responsibility for failures’ which almost led to the Champions League final becoming a ‘mass fatality catastrophe’.
The majority of venues being used for Paris 2024 are preexisting, including the Stade de France (Image credit: Getty Images)
1st December 2022
The organising committee launches its ticket sales process by inviting fans to register their interest in events taking place at Paris 2024, which will see almost ten million tickets up for grabs in total. One million of those are priced at €24 (US$26), with almost half available for less than €50 (US$55).
It also marks the first time in Olympic history that all tickets are sold exclusively on a single, centralised digital platform, which is open to all fans globally at the same time.
27th January 2023
Jean-Philippe Gatien, the sports director for Paris 2024, resigns from his position just 18 months before the Games. He is replaced by Aurélie Merle, who steps up from her role as executive director of sports competition and deputy sports director.
8th February 2023
Having initially suggested she was in favour of Russian athletes participating under a neutral banner, Hidalgo backtracks and calls for there to be no delegation from the country at Paris 2024 while the war in Ukraine continues.
“As long as there is this war, this aggression [of] Russia on Ukraine, it is not possible to parade as if nothing had happened, to have a delegation come to Paris, while the bombs continue to rain down on Ukraine,” says Hidalgo.
The IOC later confirms that athletes from Russia and Belarus who qualify for the Games can compete as neutrals, as they did in Beijing two years earlier, though they will not take part in the opening ceremony in Paris.
27th July 2023
The organising committee aims to cut Paris 2024’s carbon footprint in half compared to the 2012 and 2016 Games, according to Estanguet, who hopes for an Olympics that is “spectacular and sustainable”. He also says organisers must “change the way” the Games is delivered or risk its future being “in danger”.
Sustainability initiatives for this summer’s Olympics include the use of 100 per cent renewable electricity, complementing the heavy reliance on existing and temporary facilities in the French capital.
6th August 2023
Heavy rain leads to the cancellation of a test event on the River Seine, but organisers state it will be better prepared next year. Improving the water quality in the Seine was a key focus for Paris even before being awarded the 2024 Olympics. Around €1.4 billion (US$1.5 billion) has been invested in cleaning up the river by state and local authorities since 2016.
14th November 2023
Local support for the Games appears to be dwindling, with a poll from Odoxa showing that almost one in two Parisians believe hosting the 2024 Olympics is a ‘bad thing’. Some 44 per cent of Paris region residents express a negative opinion, while 65 per cent of French residents said having the Olympics in Paris was a ‘good thing’.
In contrast, only 22 per cent of Parisians had a negative opinion of Paris 2024 two years ago. Odoxa’s survey also finds that more than half of residents are now considering leaving the region for the duration of the event.
22nd November 2023
Despite some criticism over prices, Paris 2024 deputy general director Michaël Aloïsio says 7.2 million tickets have already been sold for the event.
In the same week, Hidalgo concedes that the transport system in Paris will not be ready in time and warns there “will not be enough trains”. Earlier in November, France’s transport minister Clément Beaune admitted that road traffic will be “difficult” in the city during the Olympics.
The 28-kilometre extension of line 14 on the Paris Métro later opens on 24th June 2024 at a cost of €3.5 billion (US$3.8 billion) in a move designed to ease pressure on the local transport system by linking Orly Airport to the city centre. According to Radio France Internationale (RFI), the extension is the only transport infrastructure delivered on time compared to what was promised in the Paris 2024 bid.
4th December 2023
Paris’ deputy mayor Pierre Rabadan says there will be “no safer place in the world” than the French capital during the Games, following a knife and hammer attack in the city earlier in the month.
“We have an exceptional system that will be put in place for the opening ceremony,” adds Rabadan.
“It’s awful what happened. Our thoughts are with those who have been affected. We have been monitoring the situation, but there is no second plan specifically.
“We have a plan in place but there are variables that can be adjusted to ensure the security for the people of the world. There are sufficient measures in place.”
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo recently swam in the River Seine to demonstrate its improved water quality (Image credit: Getty Images)
6th February 2024
Estanguet becomes the latest member of the organising committee caught up in sleaze allegations after anti-corruption prosecutors start investigating his annual income of about €270,000 (US$294,000). According to The Times, Estanguet’s income appears to exceed the ceiling for the heads of non-profit making organisations in France, which is fixed by law at €139,104 (US$151,666) a year. The organising committee denies that its president has done anything wrong.
Estanguet had already rejected calls for the resignation of Étienne Thobois and Édouard Donnelly, the respective chief executive and executive director of Games operations for Paris 2024, amid alleged embezzlement, misappropriation of public funds and favouritism.
Aloïsio also found himself under investigation in September 2023 after being accused of favouritism in the awarding of a contract relating to France’s bid for the 2030 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The case is later closed in February 2024 without further action being taken.
6th March 2024
Despite the conflict in Gaza, IOC president Thomas Bach says Israel faces no threat to its Olympic status amid some calls for the country to face sporting sanctions.
When asked about Israel teams and athletes not taking part in Paris, the German said: “No, there is no question about this.”
The IOC has since faced some criticism for its conflicting stance on Russia and Israel, including from pro-Palestine protestors outside both the Paris Olympic and IOC headquarters calling for the country’s participation in the Games to be limited.
27th March 2024
Pierre Moscovici, president of the Cour des Comptes, France’s supreme audit institution, says the public cost of the Games will rise from €3 billion (US$3.3 billion) to potentially €4 billion (US$4.4 billion) or €5 billion (US$5.5 billion).
“We still don’t know the cost of the Olympic Games, the Court of Auditors will audit them after they are over,” says Moscovici. “These Games should cost between three, four, five billion [euros], we’ll see, but it won’t have an absolutely massive impact on the debt.”
The provisional bill for Paris 2024, which is comprises a mix of public and private money, has been pegged at €9 billion (US$9.8 billion).
15th April 2024
French president Emmanuel Macron says the Olympics opening ceremony - the first to be held outside a stadium - could move from the River Seine if the security risk is too high, suggesting the Trocadéro and the Stade de France as alternatives. Plans to accommodate approximately 600,000 people to watch the ceremony from riverbanks had already been scaled down to 300,000, with tickets being invitation only rather than available via open registration.
Later in the week, Estanguet says the Games will be protected by an “unprecedented” security operation, including up to 45,000 personnel for the opening ceremony, and that preparations are “in good shape”.
14th May 2024
The organising committee reaches 99 per cent of its revised sponsorship revenue target and remains confident of achieving its goal of €1.24 billion (US$1.35 billion) ahead of the Olympics. Thobois also says he expects the event to break even.
The news coincides with the release of a new economic impact report conducted by the Centre de Droit et d’Economie du Sport, which finds that the Games could generate as much as €11.145 billion (US$12.152 billion) for the Paris region over a 17-year timeline between 2018 and 2034, spanning both the planning phase and legacy period after the event.
France is in a state of political uncertainty after Emmanuel Macron's decision to hold a snap election (Image credit: Getty Images)
13th June 2024
Plans remain in place to hold swimming events in the River Seine despite more heavy rain and lingering doubts over the water quality. The estimated €1.4 billion (US$1.5 billion) cleanup operation, paid for by state and local authorities, to purify the Seine angers locals and prompts the ‘#JeChieDansLaSeineLe23Juin’ movement, which threatens to turn the river into a sewer.
The plans see Hidalgo postpone her planned swim to prove the Seine’s cleanliness, though she cited the French elections for her decision. Paris 2024 organisers say Macron’s surprise decision to go to the polls will not disrupt preparations for the Games.
3rd July 2024
Amid political turmoil in France, Estanguet says he wants the Games “to unite people” after the far-right National Rally (RN) tops the first round of voting for a new parliament. The 46-year-old adds that Paris 2024 can “show the world the courage and the best of what our country has to offer”.
Despite that, the political deadlock in the country continues after the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coalition ends up winning the most seats but fails to secure a majority.
16th July 2024
Marcon accepts the resignation of prime minister Gabriel Attal's government following Renaissance’s (RE) defeat in the parliamentary elections. Attal and his ministers will continue to deal with day-to-day business as a caretaker government.
