CNN
—
There’s a lot going on in Paris this summer.
The Olympics are coming to the French capital, with the host cities for all 32 sports already decided.
Many of the venues pre-date the Olympics: the only permanent sports facility built for the Olympics is the Aquatics Centre, which will host artistic swimming, water polo and diving, but there will also be a range of temporary arenas and stands, some built around famous landmarks.
Though there are several competition venues across France and further afield, Paris will host a relatively compact Games, with most facilities within a five-kilometer (3.1-mile) radius of the Olympic Village in the north of the city, and fans can travel between venues by foot, bike or on Paris’ well-connected subway.
In a totally unique event, the Opening Ceremony will take place along the Seine, marking the first time it will take place outside a stadium.
The famous Parade of Nations (when each nation’s athletes normally enter the Olympic Stadium on foot) takes place on the Seine, with 10,500 athletes boarding boats through the city center.
With some of the city’s most spectacular sights, it’s no wonder that Paris 2024 organizers chose to hold certain events in locations with panoramic views of some of the capital’s most famous landmarks.
Fans attending beach volleyball may have to stay away from the iconic landmark, the Eiffel Tower, as it will stand next to a new open-air stadium in the Champ de Mars.
Another great venue is the famous Palace of Versailles: home to the country’s royal family before the French Revolution and now a place of honor for sporting royalty in equestrian and modern pentathlon.
The archery will take place in Place des Invalides, a large open-air green space that also serves as the finish line of the marathon and lies just north of the impressive Palace of Les Invalides, home to a museum and memorial to French military history, a hospital, a nursing home for veterans, and the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Event organizers appear to have made use of every available public space and transformed it into an area capable of hosting Olympic sports, with the transformation of Place de la Concorde into an urban sports hub being one of the most striking.
According to Olympics.com, the famous public square “allows urban sports to take root in their natural environment, away from the stadiums, in the heart of the city.” The newest Olympic sport, breaking, will take place at La Concorde, in the same location as 3×3 basketball, skateboarding and freestyle BMX.
The City of Light is also home to several permanent sporting venues that will be in use during the Olympics. The Stade de France is home to the French national football and rugby teams and is a renowned venue for international sporting and cultural events. It is one of only two stadiums to have hosted both the football and rugby World Cup Finals, and has hosted the UEFA Champions League Finals in 2002, 2006 and 2022.
During the tournament, it will become the Olympic Stadium, hosting athletics and rugby sevens events.
Southwest of the arena is the Stade Roland Garros. Named after the famous French aviator, this complex contains 18 clay tennis courts and is used each year for the French Open, one of tennis’ four major tournaments. Olympic tennis is of course held here, but it also hosts boxing matches on its central Court Philippe Chatrier.
Football will be played in more venues than any other sport at the Olympics, with matches taking place in seven stadiums across the country, but the famous Parc des Princes in the heart of Paris is one of the venues hosting “the beautiful game.” The stadium is home to 12-time Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain and has previously hosted World Cup and European Championship matches.
Most of the events will be centred in or around Paris, but some will take place outside the capital.
While most athletes are dealing with the hustle and bustle of the city and the arrival of thousands of Olympic fans, surfers competing at Paris 2024 are heading to far-flung island paradises.
All surfing competitions take place in Tahiti, the largest island in the overseas territory of French Polynesia. Located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, more than 9,000 miles from Paris, Tahiti welcomes surfers from all over the world who attempt to conquer the infamous Te Ahupo wave.
Also known as “The End of the Road”, Teahupo Island is known for its picturesque scenery but also for the dangers posed by its shallow reef beneath gigantic waves.
Olympic sailors won’t travel very far, but the seaside city of Marseille, on the southern coast of mainland France, was chosen to host the event, as Paris is inland and far from the coastline. The Roucas Blanc Marina will be a suitable location for the competition, as the coastal terrain and consistent winds will ensure “ideal tactical and strategic conditions for the competitors.”
The city will host football matches at the Marseille Stadium (also known as the Stade Vélodrome), as well as the Parc de Princes and arenas in Bordeaux, Saint-Etienne, Lyon, Nantes and Nice.
archery: Place des Invalides
Gymnastics: AccorHotels Arena
Artistic Swimming: Aquatics Centre
Athletics: Stade de France (Olympic Stadium)
badminton: Porte de la Chapelle Arena
basketball: Pierre Mauroy Stadium (Lille), Bercy Arena
3×3 Basketball: Concorde
Beach Volleyball: Eiffel Tower Stadium
BMX Freestyle: Concorde
BMX Racing: Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines BMX Stadium (Montigny-le-Bretonneux)
boxing: North Paris Arena, Stade Roland Garros
breaking news: Concorde
Canoe slalom and sprint: Vers-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium
Cycling (Mountain Biking): Elancourt Hill
Cycling (Road): Esplanade of the Invalides, Pont Alexandre III and Trocadero
Cycling (Track): Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome
diving: Aquatics Centre
Equestrian: Palace of Versailles
fencing: Grand Palais
Field Hockey: Yves du Manoir Stadium
golf: Golf National
handball: Pierre Mauroy Stadium, South Paris Arena
judo: Champ de Mars Arena
Marathon Swimming: Pont Alexandre III
Modern Pentathlon: North Paris Arena, Palace of Versailles
Rhythmic gymnastics: Porte de la Chapelle Arena
Rowing: Vers-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium
Rugby Sevens: Stade de France (Olympic Stadium)
Sailing: Marseille Marina
photograph: Châteauroux Shooting Centre
skateboard: Concorde
soccer: Bordeaux Stadium, Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium (Saint-Étienne), La Beaujoire Stadium (Nantes), Lyon Stadium, Marseille Stadium, Nice Stadium, Parc de Princes
Sport Climbing: Le Bourget Sport Climbing Venue
surfing: Teahupo (Tahiti)
swimming: Paris La Défense Arena
Table tennis: South Paris Arena
Taekwondo: Grand Palais
tennis: Stade Roland Garros
trampoline: AccorHotels Arena
triathlon: Pont Alexandre III
volleyball: South Paris Arena
Water polo: Aquatics Centre, Paris La Défense Arena
Weightlifting: South Paris Arena
wrestling: Champ de Mars Arena
