With less than a year to go, preparations are in full swing for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. By this time, qualified athletes are now putting in endless hours of training in hopes of clinching gold medals and bringing honor and glory to their respective countries. And those who haven’t yet qualified are undoubtedly getting ready to compete in an Olympic qualifying event to secure their spot at the Games next year.
But beyond the hopeful athletes, various organizations and committees are also working hard to make the event a success, not only for the sake of the athletes but also to ensure their accomplishments have a global impact.
In light of their recent announcement, Olympics.com has just announced that the International Olympic Committee (IOC), French Development Agency (AFD), and the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 have signed a tripartite agreement that will seek to expand the legacy left by the Olympics. This new agreement is in line with IOC’s Olympism365 strategy, which aimed to bring various organizations and networks together in order to make sport and Olympism accessible 365 days a year in four key areas: health and active communities; more equitable and inclusive communities; peace and safer communities; and education and livelihoods.
The goal of this tripartite agreement is to scale up the “Impact 2024 International” program that was first set up in 2021 by the AFD in partnership with Paris 2024. The Impact 2024 International is basically a program that strengthens the social role of sport in Africa.
To cite its accomplishments, the “Impact 2024 International” program, over the last three years, has funded 45 projects in 19 African countries (South Africa, Algeria, Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Morocco, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, and Zambia) that had over 77,469 beneficiaries. The total fund for those projects was said to be 1.4 million euros, which had an average fund of 29,300 euros for each project.
With the tripartite agreement signed, this will help increase the funds for the local programs and help scale their environmental and social impact. With IOC’s additional investment, the agreement seeks to leverage the impact, knowledge, and innovation generated by these projects over the last three years while enabling participants to engage and learn from one another.
After being MIA for the last three years, North Korea’s strong lineup of athletes is set to make an appearance at the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games.
In 2021, they bowed out of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, citing that they needed to protect their athletes from the COVID-19 pandemic. This announcement, which came after a meeting of the National Olympic Committee, marked the first time the isolated nation has officially withdrawn from the event.
Because of the no-show, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to punish and ban North Korea from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
With the ban officially lifted this year, North Korea is set to enter the Hangzhou Asian Games with 191 of its best athletes. This is their first international multi-sport appearance since 2018.
According to reports, their weightlifting team was due to compete in a tournament in Cuba in June of this year, but they did not show up. Their taekwondo team, however, did participate in a tournament held in Kazakhstan last month, which marked their first participation in a sporting event this year.
This year, the country will compete in 18 sports for the games that will take place on Sept. 23-Oct. 8. This includes sports in which the nation’s athletes are regarded as formidable, such as athletics, gymnastics, basketball, soccer, boxing, and weightlifting.
North Korea’s last appearance
North Korea was last seen participating in the Jakarta-Palembang 2018 Asian Games, where they won 12 gold medals, 12 silver medals, and 13 bronze medals. Of those, eight were won in weightlifting, with the rest coming from wrestling, shooting, and gymnastics.
During that time, the athletes not only captured medals but also attracted the spectators’ attention as they openly talked about their hardships and journey to the reporters and journalists, which was an uncommon sight for everyone. They also mingled with the South Korean team, posed with them for photos, and interacted with the spectators.
“They are not scary or anything like portrayed on the internet, it’s been the normal girl talk with them.” South Korea basketball player Kim Han-byul said.
It was a heart-warming moment for the people who witnessed the North Korean athletes unhinging their fun and friendly side. And the fans had Kim Il Guk, the sports minister, to thank for in giving the athletes the green light to talk about topics that had previously been taboo.
“Our athletes will get national hero status once they return and will get big attention from our people. Everyone will be proud.”
The head coach, Kim Kwang Dok, also revealed that aside from hero status, the winners were also awarded a house and a car.
Fans are now anticipating whether the athletes from North Korea will come back stronger and repeat their historic medal hauls at the upcoming Asian Games.
Over the course of 18 days of competition in the French city and other locations, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will include 3,800 hours of live events and award 329 gold medals in 32 different sports.
The Paris 2024 Olympics will officially begin on July 26, with an opening ceremony. Rather than being held in a stadium, the grand opening ceremony will be held along the Seine River for this year’s Games.
However, the official start of sporting events will be on July 24, days prior to the opening ceremony, with events in football, rugby sevens, handball, and archery.
What’s new for Paris 2024
Breaking is the only new sport scheduled for the 2024 Olympics. This dance form had its start in the 1970s in the Bronx in New York, but it has since developed into a competitive sport. This sport will not be seen in Paris until the latter part of the Games; the men’s event is scheduled for August 10 and the women’s for August 9. There will be 32 competitors in total—16 males and 16 women—who will fight for the medals.
Furthermore, karate and baseball/softball were eliminated from the Olympics this year, despite their inclusion in Tokyo three years ago.
Additionally, Kayak Cross will make its premiere. It’s similar to canoe slalom, but instead of racing against the clock, each heat sets four participants against one another.
The sailing competition now includes two new kite events: kiteboarding and windsurfer-iQFoil. Moreover, men will compete in artistic swimming for the first time in Olympic history, and a team acrobatic routine round will make its debut.
Olympic prize money
The World Athletics has declared that it will be the inaugural international federation to present cash prizes during the Olympic Games. The international governing body announced that a total reward fund of $2.4 million (£1.9 million) has been made available for the Olympics in Paris this summer. The gold medal winners will receive $50,000 (£39,400).
Russian and Belarusian athletes
Athletes from Belarus and Russia may compete as Individual Neutral Athletes, or AIN.The International Olympic Committee has announced that they will not be participating in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics as well.
Dates to remember
Opening ceremony: July 26, River Seine
Archery: July 25 to August 4, Invalides
Artistic gymnastics: July 25 to August 4, Bercy Arena
Artistic swimming: August 5-10, Bercy Arena
Athletics: August 1-11, Stade de France (track & field), Trocadero (race walks), Invalides (marathons)
Badminton: July 27 to August 5, La Chapelle Arena
3×3 Basketball: July 30 to August 5, La Concorde
Basketball: July 27 to August 11, Pierre Mauroy Stadium (group phase) & Bercy Arena (finals)
Beach volleyball: July 27 to August 10, Eiffel Tower Stadium
Boxing: July 27 to August 10, North Paris Arena & Roland-Garros Stadium
Breaking: August 9-10, La Concorde
Canoe slalom: July 27 to August 5, Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium – White water
Canoe sprint: August 6-10, Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium – Flat water
Cycling BMX: July 30 to August 2, La Concorde (freestyle), BMX Stadium (racing)
Cycling mountain bike: July 28-29, Elancourt Hill
Cycling road: July 27 to August 4, Pont Alexandre III (time trials), Trocadero (road races)
Cycling track: August 5-11, National Velodrome
Diving: July 27 to August 10, Aquatics Centre
Equestrian: July 27 to August 6, Chateau de Versailles
Fencing: July 27 to August 4, Grand Palais
Football: July 24 to August 10, Bordeaux Stadium, Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium, La Beaujoire Stadium, Lyon Stadium, Marseille Stadium, Nice Stadium & Parc de Princes (finals)
Golf: August 1-10, Le Golf National
Handball: July 25 to August 11, South Paris Arena (group stage), Pierre Mauroy Stadium (knockout phase)
Hockey: July 27 to August 9, Yves-du-Manoir Stadium
Judo: July 27 to August 3, Champ-de-Mars Arena
Marathon swimming: August 8-9, Pont Alexandre III
Modern pentathlon: August 8-11, North Paris Arena (ranking round), Chateau de Versailles
Rhythmic gymnastics: August 8-10, La Chapelle Arena
Rowing: July 27 to August 3, Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium – Flat water
Rugby sevens: July 24-30, Stade de France
Sailing: July 28 to August 8, Marseille Marina
Shooting: July 27 to August 5, Chateauroux Shooting Centre
Skateboarding: July 27 to August 7, La Concorde
Sport climbing: August 5-10, Le Bourget Climbing Venue
Surfing: July 27 to August 4, Teahupo’o, Tahiti
Swimming: July 27 to August 4, Paris La Defense Arena
Table tennis: July 27 to August 10, South Paris Arena
Taekwondo: August 7-10, Grand Palais
Tennis: July 27 to August 4, Roland Garros
Trampoline gymnastics: August 2, Bercy Arena
Triathlon: July 30 to August 5, Pont Alexandre III
Volleyball: July 27 to August 11, South Paris Arena
Water polo: July 27 to August 11, Aquatics Centre, Paris La Defense Arena
Olympic organizers joined the global trend of utilizing this quickly developing technology on Friday by presenting their creative idea to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into sports. In outlining its goals, the International Olympic Committee emphasized how AI may help find talented athletes, customize training, and improve judging equity. This calculated action has the potential to completely transform global competition standards and athlete development.
To maintain the exclusivity of the Olympic Games and the importance of sport, we are taking another step today. We must be change agents in order to do this. Thomas Bach said to ABC news.
He further added; Our goal is to responsibly utilize AI’s enormous potential.
In less than a month, the Paris Olympics will take place, and the IOC has unveiled its innovative artificial intelligence plan. With the help of this program, athletes will be shielded from cyberbullying, and domestic viewers’ viewing pleasure will be improved, increasing the billions of dollars that broadcast rights sales generate. The IOC’s AI plan, which is centered on innovation, promises an Olympic show that is safer and more interesting for everyone.
AI Dominates the Paris Games
Bach stated that the IOC has formed a working group to promote AI integration in sports, and that the next Olympic Games in Paris promise to be a showcase for AI innovation. The local organizers’ proposal to use AI for security, leveraging sophisticated video systems to spot possible threats like abandoned goods or unexpected crowd movements, is controversial.
Digital watchdog groups continue to express worries about the continued use of face recognition technology, despite the French government’s assurances to the contrary. This underscores the intricate relationship that exists between innovation and privacy rights.
Legendary skier Lindsey Vonn looks back on the advances in training equipment she was not able to experience in her early years with a trace of jealousy. She remembers meticulously recording environmental conditions and ski specifics by hand in her performance diary.
Tablets now change the training scene with their instantaneous data processing and side-by-side video comparisons. Vonn emphasizes how AI has revolutionized the ski industry by advancing these analytical tools and bringing in a new era of accuracy and performance optimization.
Counting the remaining months before the Paris Olympic Games 2024, there is a lot that we must know about what will transpire in the French City. Here is a list of the 24 things that we need to know about Paris 2024 which you can confidently and enthusiastically share with your family and friends.
Top five things to know about Paris Olympics
The official dates of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games happening in Paris are July 26-August 11, and August 28-September 8 respectively.
The Paris 2024 competitions in the fields of football and rugby will begin on July 24, two days before the official opening ceremony.
The 2024 Paris Olympics will be a century from the time the 1924 Paris Olympics was held.
Paris and London hosted the Olympics three times. London during the 1908, 1948, and 2012 games while Paris during 1900, 1924, and 2024.
Almost one hundred years will pass between the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony in Paris on July 26, and the 1924 Closing Ceremony on July 27 in the same city.
How many medals?
The Paris 2024 opening ceremony won’t be having a stadium hosting because it will be held at the Seine, the river that runs through the heart of Paris.
The 2024 Olympics will feature 32 sports and 329 event medals.
Most medals will be awarded in the field of aquatics with 49 events– diving, water polo, artistic swimming, marathon swimming, and swimming. Athletics will come in next with 48 events.
The number of expected athletes that will be participating is roughly 10,500. The final number will be confirmed after the conclusion of the Olympic Qualifier Series.
Breaking is a new sport that will be added in the Paris 2024 Olympics. Dance sports will comprise two events– one for men and one for women– where 16 B-Boys and 16 B-Girls will fight in solo bouts.
Thousands of volunteers
An estimated number of 45,000 volunteered to offer help at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
13 out of the 35 venues will be used to accommodate different sports. These are all within ten kilometers of the Olympic Village.
Some of the Olympic events will take place in well-known locations throughout Paris such as the Champ de Mars (below the Eiffel Tower) for beach volleyball, La Concorde for urban sports, the Grand Palais for fencing and taekwondo, and the Hotel de Ville for the marathon start.
Sports events will not just be held in the nation’s capital. Events in sailing will be held in Marseille, team sports will be held in Lille, and football matches will be held in Bordeaux, Nantes, Lyon, Saint-Etienne, Nice, and Marseille.
The surfing sport will happen on the famed Teahupoo wave on the Pacific island of Tahiti, which is almost 15,000 kilometers from Paris.
Extreme slalom is a new canoe event that will debut in the 2024 Olympics. Athletes tip off a ramp simultaneously, and the winner is the first person to reach the bottom of the course. A separate event will be made for men and women.
There will be two new sailing categories in Paris 2024 One is IQFoil, which is windsurfing, and the other is formula kite, also referred to as kite surfing.
The 35-kilometer walking mixed relay in running, the Skeet mixed team event in shooting, and the mixed Dinghy in sailing are three new mixed events that will also debut in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
A 32 year wait for Paris
The Olympic Games will return to France for the first time in 32 years. The last Olympics to take place in France was the Winter Games in Albertville in 1992.
The format of sport climbing, which debuted at Tokyo 2020 in 2021, will be altered for 2024. For every gender, there will be two distinct medal events in Paris 2024: one for a combined event that solely consists of bouldering and lead, and another for speed climbing.
The Modern Pentathlon will use a new format that will run precisely 90 minutes. Riding will be the first activity, followed by the fencing bonus round and swimming. The event will end with the laser run with combined shooting and running. There will be breaks between 5-15 minutes per activity.
Almost 10 million tickets will be on sale for the Paris 2024 Olympics, and around 3.4 million for the 2024 Paralympics. Tickets will be sold via a single website. Click here to know more.
There will be an IOC Refugee Olympic Team that will compete in Paris 2024. Back in Rio 2016, the first refugee squad competed. The Refugee Olympic Team aims to give hope to millions of Refugees around the world.
Indeed, the Olympics is a global platform for the inspiring collaboration of athletics, culture, and unity. As we look forward to this years’ games, may we be reminded of the significance of friendship, excellence, and mutual respect.
Netizens have criticized a Paris Olympics poster from the television network Eurosport as racist since it did not include any Chinese or Japanese athletes, though China finished second and Japan third in the medal standings.
The poster showcased some of the biggest stars from the recently concluded Summer Games this year. In a social media post, the caption stated: “The Greatest Show on Earth… Paris 2024, we will never forget you.”
However, there is hardly any Asian athlete in the poster. One netizen commented: “Kind of sad to see China nor Japan here (2nd and 3rd overall), yes it is Eurosport so naturally a lot of European athletes are celebrated and LA explains the amount of Americans but a bit more equality will be nice… especially for Japan, hosted the last games, has IOC sponsors as well…”
Another netizen declared: “Can someone make another version of this poster to include Asian athletes? This is embarrassing.”
Others find it inappropriate that Snoop Dogg and Tom Cruise are included in the poster. A netizen commented: “So Snoop Dogg and Tom Cruise are featured but not any Asian athletes? Got it”
Others said: “The worst Olympics ever. Never talk about diversity again!! ️Discrimination in the country”, “Poor diversity of athletes. Almost no Asian representation. I find it very disrespectful”, “This racism is so exhausting and outdated. Can’t believe there are still people in this world TODAY who are just in this old mindset. Like, GET OVER IT. It holds us back in humanity.”
