From Versailles to the Stade de France via Roland-Garros, France 24 special envoy Samuel Eliott travels through the future emblematic sites of the Paris Olympic Games, one year before the spectacular opening ceremony planned on the Seine.
Published on: 07/26/2023 – 11:37 Modified on: 07/26/2023 – 20:53
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Step 1: the domain of Versailles (horse riding, pentathlon)
05:23 The venues of the Paris-2024 Olympic Games, stage 1: the Palace of Versailles © FRANCE 24
It is one of the most famous monuments in France: the Palace of Versailles will host the Olympic Games horse riding and pentathlon events in the summer of 2024. Catherine Pegard, president of the château, gives an update:
“Preparations are going well. A year seems like a long time, but it’s actually very short,” she said.
Stage 2: the Alexandre III bridge (open water swimming, triathlon)
03:08 The venues of the Paris-2024 Olympics, stage 2: the Alexandre III bridge from which swimmers will set off in open water © FRANCE 24
Ambitious project of Paris-2024: organize the open water events (swimming and triathlon) directly in the Seine. These events will start from the Alexandre III bridge which connects the Grand Palais to the Invalides, an emblematic monument of Paris. But the challenge to make the Seine swimmable is considerable.
Read alsoJO-2024: Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis, Marseille, Tahiti… Where will the competitions take place?
Stage 3: Roland-Garros (tennis, boxing)
02:32 The venues of the Paris-2024 Olympic Games, stage 3: Roland-Garros welcomes tennis… and boxing © FRANCE 24
Roland-Garros is a legendary stadium, known worldwide. The Porte d’Auteuil site hosts the French Open, one of the most important tournaments of the season. In 2024, the Olympic tennis tournament will take place there, as will the boxing one.
Stage 4: the Stade de France (athletics, rugby sevens) and the aquatic center
02:52 Paris-2024 Olympic Games: the Stade de France and the aquatic center at the heart of Olympism © france 24
Sevens rugby, athletics, closing ceremony… France’s largest stadium will be multi-use during the Paris Olympics. At the same time, the nearby aquatic center aims to be one of the most important legacies of the Games, offering an additional pool to this department where one in two children in sixth grade cannot swim.
Stage 5: the Seine (opening ceremony)
More than an athlete, the real star of the Olympic Games could be the Seine, between an unprecedented opening ceremony, events in the river and the promise of swimming there from 2025. July 26, 2024, from 20 h 24, the approximately 10,000 athletes of the Olympics must parade on a hundred boats in the heart of Paris, between the bridge of Austerlitz and that of Iéna. Notre-Dame de Paris, the Pont Neuf, the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, the Grand Palais, the Eiffel Tower… All the monuments that make Paris famous will be on view
“We are preparing like athletes. Except that we are condemned to the gold medal”, assures Taoufik el Amrani, general manager of the Bateaux-mouches company.
06:00 Paris-2024 Olympic Games: opening ceremony on the Seine, “we are obliged to succeed” © FRANCE 24
