Paris 2024
„Games wide open“
Out of the arena, into the French capital: The opening of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris is planned on the banks of the Seine. Photo: Florian Hulleu
Out of the arena, into the French capital: The opening of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris is planned on the banks of the Seine. There is, however, no plan B in case of rain. Foto: Florian Hulleu
Paris will host the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. The motto "Games wide open" is not merely a marketing gimmick, it’s the specification for the largest event in the world. The French are opening their capital to the Games and want everyone to participate. This can set a sustainable transformation in motion with innovative ideas and impulses for meeting planners.
After 100 years, the Summer Olympics will return to Paris. The Summer Olympic Games will be held in the French capital for the third time after 1924 and 1900, the Summer Paralympic Games will have their première here. "With the motto "Games wide open", the French want to set new world records in sustainability. This is not only a reference to the Paris Agreement with the climate goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, but above all to diversity and inclusion.
The partners of Paris 2024, among these the City of Paris, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and the IPC (International Paralympic Committee), consider the organization of the world's biggest event an obligation, a responsibility and an opportunity. After all, people from 200 countries will be watching when some 10,500 athletes compete in 32 sports disciplines at the Olympic Games from July 26 to August 11, 2024, and some 4,400 athletes compete in 22 para-sports at the Paralympic Games from August 23 to September 8, 2024. "For the first time the Olympic and Paralympic Games share the same emblem," emphasized Julie Matikhine, Chief Brand Officer Paris 2024 at the Olympic & Paralympic Games Organizing Committee.
She understands the motto "Games wide open" as open to the world, open the city to the world and open the games to a maximum of people. In concrete terms, this means that the competitions will be held in sports facilities and on public squares in the city and not outside in an Olympic park. For example, Beach Volleyball will take place at the foot of the Eiffel Tower – making tickets even more coveted – and the Olympics' opening ceremony will be held on the banks of the Seine River on July 26, 2024. "It's been a challenge globally to ask for this," Julie Matikhine revealed, assuring that "IOC is happy with it." She is aware of how ambitious this project is, but the Games are designed to reach out to people and attract a new audience, young people and urban sports.
"Our country is delivering a message: Celebrate the difference," she says. And that's not just a figure of speech: it's the program! Julie Matikhine backs this up with figures on the subject of diversity, for example: In 1900, zero women took part in the Olympic Games, in 1924 there were 20 female athletes, and in 2024 half of the athletes will be female. What's more, the Chief Brand Officer Paris 2024 is jubilant: "The games are at the forefront of gender equality," because a woman will be speaking at the opening of the Summer Games: Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris. Even more than numbers, the French are focusing on symbolic statements such as the route of the marathon.
Learning Expedition 2023 at the Stade de France: The Olympic Marathon route is oriented along the "Women's March" in 1789, said Pierre Rabadan, Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of Sport, Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Seine, and Julie Matikhine, Chief Brand Officer Paris 2024 in the Olympic & Paralympic Games Organizing Committee (center). Photo: tw tagungswirtschaft
Marathon along the Women's March
The Olympic Marathon consists of two races; the traditional 42.195 km course and a shortened 10 km course for everyone as part of the „Mass Event Running“. In planning, Paris 2024 was inspired by the "Women's March" in 1789, when 7,000 Parisian women nearly rioted over the high price of bread and marched to the King at Versailles. To ensure that the Summer Games reach many people, anyone can run the marathon on August 10, 2024, on the same route as the Olympians; from the Paris Hôtel de Ville past famous monuments such as the Louvre Pyramid, Palace of Versailles and the Eiffel Tower.
"The Olympics are building a better world through sports."
Caroline Leboucher, CEO of Atout France
"The Olympics are building a better world through sports," said Caroline Leboucher, CEO of Atout France, the French National Tourist Board. She sees Paris 2024 as "a leverage for transformation." Atout France, the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau and CRT Paris Île-de-France brought this to life at the 2023 Learning Expedition in April "2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games". 40 event planners and ten media reps discovered a Paris away from the Eiffel Tower on four routes, e.g. "The north of Paris, epicenter of the Olympic and Paralympic Games" or "Street sports come to the Games: Discover inspiring venues for your events". The international event professionals were astonished when the break dance group "Lady Rocks" stirred up the reception in the historic city hall. It was a rousing demonstration of diversity and integration, joy and self-confidence. Host Frédéric Hocquard, Deputy Mayor in charge of Tourism and Nightlife is certain: "The games are an accelerator for the transformation of Paris."
Break Dance in the historic Paris City Hall? The group “Lady Rocks“ enthused die 40 event planners and ten media reps at the festive reception. Photo: Stéphane Laure
Corinne Menegaux, Managing Director at Paris je t’aime – Convention Bureau, emphasized: “The Olympic and Paralympic Games can be an accelerator for change for the Parisian event business, as they are an opportunity to work on major issues like mobility, responsibility, and accessibility.” Atout France, the Paris Convention Bureau and the City of Paris have created the bienVenue2024 platform to make prestigious venues accessible to event planners during the Summer Games and other sporting events such as the Rugby World Cup.
Half of Paris' tourism output is business-driven, often through one of the 100,000 business events per year. By 2024, 55 new hotels will open in Paris, increasing supply by 4,746 rooms to then 171,152. To avoid price explosions, hotel room rates will be made transparent during the Games. "We also created and signed this year, along other key Parisian professionals (hotels, transports, venues, caterers ...) the Charter for hosting big events," Menegaux declared. The objective is to set out rigorous criteria designed to enable an event experience that is sustainable and innovative. Among the signatories is France's largest hotel chain. Valérie de Robillard, Senior Vice President and CSO Coordination Sustainability at Accor, stated with regard to sustainability and mega-sized events: "It just another proof point that we all like to be part of the solution."
Photo: Stéphane Laure, Paris je t’aime
“Innovative, sustainable, festive”
Corinne Menegaux, Managing Director at Paris je t’aime – Convention Bureau, about the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024.
Sustainability at the heart
After losing two Olympic bids, Paris 2024 made sustainability the centerpiece of its bid in its third attempt. To do so, the French signed up to the UN's Sports for Climate Action initiative and the charter drawn up by the French Ministry of Sport and WWF with 15 environmental commitments. To halve emissions, Paris 2024 is focusing on cost-awareness, efficiency and innovation. These include the use of 100 percent renewable energy, circular economy, sustainable food procurement, clean mobility solutions for the Olympic fleet, public transport and biodiversity protection. To minimize environmental impact, 95 percent of the scheduled sports venue are either already built or will be temporary structures.
One new site will be the 8,000-seat Porte de La Chapelle Arena, which after 2024 will become the Adidas Arena. The new arena has space for almost 7,000 spectators for the badminton and para-badminton competitions, rhythmic gymnastics and para-powerlifting. Also new is the Aquatics Centre, built for water ballet, water polo and diving. Modular in design, it offers 5,000 seats at the Games and 2,500 seats afterwards, covering the needs of the Seine-Saint-Denis region. The Aquatics Centre draws its energy from photovoltaic panels on its 5,000-square-meter roof, making it one of France's most expansive urban solar parks. A pedestrian bridge leads to the 80,000-seat Stade de France. France's largest sports and cultural venue offers multiple facilities for events, restaurants, spectator boxes, and behind-the-scenes views of some of the world's most prestigious soccer players' locker rooms.
The Stade de France hosts 250 events a year. France's largest sports venue has 80,000 seats, its roof is the size of the Champs Elysees. Photo: tw tagungswirtschaft
Long lasting effects
Competitions will be held at 15 Olympic and 11 Paralympic venues, with 21 Olympic sports and 14 Paralympic sports located within a ten-kilometer radius of the Olympic & Paralympic Village. The Olympic Village in the north of Paris will revitalize an industrial wasteland into a place for biodiversity. More than 14,000 athletes are expected to move in here in 2024, and around 6,000 residents will move into their apartments from 2026. The new automatic metro will take them to the city of Paris in just under seven minutes. "The Olympics will have a great impact on our territory. It will develop our territory. We want to create a long lasting effect for our inhabitants," said Mathieu Hanotin. For the mayor of the city of Saint-Denis north of Paris, this is an accelerator for the infrastructure with four new metro lines, bike paths and waterways for commuting.
All this of course attracts new hotels. In early 2024, H4 Hotel Paris Pleyel will open in Saint-Denis. 140 meters high, the hotel tower offers 40 floors and nearly 700 rooms and suites, a rooftop bar and the highest-situated pool in France. The conference center includes a ballroom and 16 rooms. To the south, near the new Mairie de Saint-Ouen metro station, the 112-room Tribe Paris Saint Ouen boutique hotel began operations in January.
There in the north of Paris, at the gates of the 19th arrondissement of Paris, Les Docks de Paris await with the venues Dock Eiffel (1,600 sqm), Dock Haussmann (1,500 sqm) and Dock Pullman (3,200 sqm). The fact that the Olympics are bringing revitalization to the northeast is also noticeable at Cent Quatre #104 Paris. Director José-Manuel Gonçalvès and his team have created a collaborative site with access to art and creativity, sports (new sports and urban street sports), dance (hip hop, breakdance) and an incubator for street arts. "It is the infinite place for arts, culture and innovation," declared Karine Yris, responsible for business development. Planners can book facilities of different sizes; artists have space for performances or team-building workshops and people can meet and experiment with startups in the Incubator 104factory.
Athletes dancing with the ball can be found at Le Five Paris 18. The sport venue operates as the "roof of Olympic Games". The indoor and outdoor event areas on 4,000 and 1,000 square meters, respectively, can be configured as fields for various sports, catering or fan zones – a view on the Stade of France is included. Visitors to Plantation Paris have a view of Montmartre. Salads, herbs and vegetables grow on 7,000 square meters at the rooftop farm. The project is dedicated to healthy eating and well-being and is one of the larger urban and sustainable agriculture projects in Europe. Between the greenhouse and the vegetable garden, the 250-square-meter wooden barn and the 1,000-square-meter terrace make it easy to organize sports-related events. Adidas, for example, has invited athletes to provide them with a body analysis plus a nutrition plan. All in the spirit of Paris 2024: change through sport.