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OJ 1000: from the parade on the Seine to beach volleyball under the Eiffel Tower, the unique assets of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Our special guide for the Paris Olympics 2024 D-1000

Let’s look forward to 2024. Tony Estanguet, the boss of the organizing committee for the Olympic Games (Cojo), has promised: these Olympics will be “spectacular”. Here is how he intends to seduce you.

An opening parade on the Seine

It was the Organizing Committee’s dream from the bidding phase: a ceremony outside the traditional Olympic stadium (the Stade de France for 2024). Emmanuel Macron recorded it this summer. On Friday July 26, 2024, the Games of the 33rd Olympiad will kick off from the heart of Paris. The teams of Thierry Reboul, the director of the brand in Paris 2024, are far from having finalized the details of a ceremony which is intended to be “popular” and which will last more than three hours, especially since, as revealed the Parisian – Today in France on October 24, the organization is complex. The parade of delegations should however be on the Seine, from the Quai François-Mitterrand, in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, to the Trocadéro.

A party, everywhere in France

Forgotten, the traditional static fan-zones where enthusiasts gather in front of a giant screen to follow sporting events. The 2024 “celebration zones” promise to be lively. The idea of ​​the Organizing Committee is that they set up in all the cities where competition venues are planned, but also everywhere in France, in particular via its “land of games” network.

But it is not easy to define a typical model 1000 days before the event, especially since each territory will do so according to its means. The common thread will be the retransmission of events, to which will be added sports demonstrations, activities or meetings with athletes. Two large celebratory areas are already in place, one at the Marville stadium in La Courneuve (Seine-Saint-Denis), the other in the Parc de la Villette, in Paris (19th century). This is where, during the Olympics, the French Olympic Committee will take up residence. In addition to the France club, a huge space for initiation and promotion of different sports will be installed there.

An incredible postcard sent to the whole world

Another of the pillars of the Parisian dossier: its sporting events in iconic sites. The Palace of Versailles, the Invalides, the Grand Palais will be transformed into a competition site, with the organizers’ desire “to show the whole world the heritage and architectural wealth of France”. The Cojo works closely with Olympic Broadcasting Service (OBS), which will produce and broadcast images of the event, so that the postcard sent around the world is as incredible as possible.

The Esplanade des Invalides will host the archery events during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Paris 2024

Beach volleyball tournaments (at Buckingham Palace in 2012 and at Copacabana in 2016) will take place at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. The judokas, from the Arena du Champ de Mars (7th), will have a view of the Military School. The Palace of Versailles will be in the background during the horse riding events, while the glass roof of the Grand Palais will house the fencers and the archers will play a medal with the Invalides in the background. The challenge is colossal since it is necessary to combine sporting constraints and beautiful images. That of organizing surfing events on the other side of the world, on the Teahupoo wave in Tahiti, the most extraordinary that is, is just as much. Here again, the decor looks completely crazy.

Everyone can participate

It was Tony Estanguet, three-time Olympic canoe champion and head of the organization, who wanted the 2024 Games “to be as open as possible”. And what could be crazier than allowing Madam or Mr. Everyone to take part in certain events? The “marathon for all” responds to this desire to “break the codes”, to make the Games even more popular. Tens of thousands of people (the figure has not yet been determined) will thus be able to take the start of the legendary 42.195 km long event, on the same day and on the same route as the qualified athletes.

The idea is for the race to be equal and open to as many people as possible, young and old, able-bodied as well as people with disabilities. And you don’t have to be a seasoned runner to participate (the less adventurous can take part in the 10 km event), you just need to earn your bib by participating in the challenges launched by the Paris 2024 club. Two hundred people have already won their ticket, but others will also try their luck on Sunday in Paris, against the Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge. Paris 2024 is also rolling out the Marathon for all application this Saturday, in order to support future participants in their preparation. Another event, this time cycling, will be open to the general public during the Paralympic Games and will take place in Seine-Saint-Denis.

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