Paris will host the 33rd Olympic Games, which will take place from July 26 to August 11. Another 10.5 thousand people will take part in them. Organization and holding of the Olympics will cost France 8.3 billion euros. We’ve put together a list of 10 interesting facts about this summer’s biggest competition.
Paris hosts the Olympics for the third time
In 2024, Paris will become the second city after London to host the Summer Olympic Games three times. The French capital hosted the competition in 1900, 1924 and 2024. And for France this will be the sixth Olympics. In addition to the three Summer Olympics, France also organized the Winter Games three times: Chamonix in 1924, Grenoble in 1968 and Albertville in 1992.
Breakdancing became an Olympic sport for the first time
The 2024 Summer Olympics program consists of 32 sports. Medals will be awarded during 306 competitions. Among them this year will be breaking, which has become an Olympic sport for the first time. Breaking is a competitive form of dance that involves footwork and athletic elements such as spins or head spins. The participants are called b-boys and b-girls. The jury evaluates the performance of the athletes, taking into account their technique, agility, strength, rhythm, creativity, style and speed of dance.
2024 Olympics emblem
For the first time in the history of the Games, the Olympics and Paralympics will have the same emblem. This image combined three symbols: Marianne (the symbol of the revolution and the French people), a flame and a gold medal.
2024 Olympics mascot
They became the red Phrygian caps, which are called “caps of freedom.” At one time they were a symbol of the Great French Revolution. At the same time, the mascot of the Olympics itself is a cap wearing white sneakers, and the Paralympics is a cap with a prosthetic instead of one of the legs. The names of the mascots are Frigi.
Open marathon for everyone
For the first time in the history of the Olympics, everyone will be able to take part in the official marathon race. True, professional athletes will take part in the official race a little earlier. And after them there will be a race for everyone on the same track.
A piece of the Eiffel Tower in every medal
Hexagonal fragments made from elements (beams, floors) of the Eiffel Tower will be mounted in the center of the Olympic and Paralympic Games medals. In total, the French Mint produced 5,084 medals for the Olympics.
Ukraine at the 2024 Olympics
Ukraine will be represented by 99 athletes at the 2024 Olympic Games. Experts predict our country will win one and a half dozen medals and confidently enter the top 20 countries in the overall medal standings. Most of the Ukrainian athletes are in athletics and football. At the previous Summer Olympics, our athletes won 1 gold medal, 6 silver and 12 bronze.
The opening ceremony
For the first time, the opening ceremony of the Olympics will not take place in a stadium. Instead, it will be done on the Seine, the river that cuts through the center of Paris. At least 600 thousand spectators will be able to take part in the celebrations along a five-kilometer route along the lower and upper embankments of the Seine. This space is approximately ten times the capacity of a typical Olympic stadium, giving people even more access to this historic event.
The sights of Paris will welcome athletes
Some Olympic events will take place in iconic places in Paris: beach volleyball will be played on the Champ de Mars (under the Eiffel Tower), urban sports will take place in Concorde, fencing and taekwondo will take place at the Grand Palais, and the marathon will start at the Hotel de Ville.
Refugee Athletes Team
An Olympic team made up of refugees will participate in the 2024 Olympics. Previously, such a team took part in the Games only once – in 2016, when the Olympics were held in Rio.