The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events starting from 24 July. Paris was the host city, with events (mainly football) held in 16 additional cities in metropolitan France, including the sailing centre in the second-largest city of France, Marseille, on the Mediterranean Sea, as well as one subsite for surfing in Tahiti, French Polynesia.
Paris was awarded the Games at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru, on 13 September 2017. After multiple withdrawals that left only Paris and Los Angeles in contention, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved a process to concurrently award the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics to the two remaining candidate cities. Having previously hosted in 1900 and 1924, Paris became the second city ever to host the Summer Olympics three times, after London (1908, 1948, and 2012). Paris 2024 marked the centennial of the 1924 Summer Games and the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix (the first Winter Olympics), as well as the sixth Olympic Games hosted by France (three Summer Olympics and three Winter Olympics). The Summer Games returned to the traditional four-year Olympiad cycle, after the 2020 edition was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paris 2024 featured the debut of breaking as an Olympic sport, and was the final Olympic Games held during the IOC presidency of Thomas Bach. The 2024 Games were expected to cost €9 billion. The opening ceremony was held outside of a stadium for the first time in modern Olympic history, being outdoors in the Paris's downtown and athletes were paraded by boat along the Seine. Paris 2024 was the first Olympics in history to reach full gender parity on the field of play, with equal numbers of male and female athletes.
The United States topped the medal table for the fourth consecutive Summer Games and 19th time overall, with 40 gold and 126 total medals. China tied with the United States on gold (40), but finished second due to having fewer silvers; the nation won 91 medals overall. This was the first time a gold medal tie had occurred between the two most successful nations in Summer Olympic history. Japan finished third with 20 gold and 45 total medals, and sixth in the overall medal count. Australia finished fourth with 18 gold and 53 total medals, marking the nation's most successful Summer Olympics of all time, and fifth in the overall medal count. The host nation, France, finished fifth with 16 gold and 64 total medals, marking their first top-five finish since the 1996 Summer Olympics, and fourth in the overall medal count. Dominica, Saint Lucia, Cape Verde and Albania won their first-ever Olympic medals, the former two both being gold, with Botswana and Guatemala also winning their first-ever gold medals. The Refugee Olympic Team also won their first-ever medal: Cindy Ngamba, a refugee from Cameroon, won a bronze in boxing.
Despite some controversies throughout relating to politics, logistics and conditions in the Olympic Village, the Games were considered a success by the press, Parisians and observers upon its conclusion. The Paris Olympics broke all-time records for ticket sales, with more than 9.5 million tickets sold (12.1 million including the Paralympic Games).
Host selection
Having previously hosted the 1900 and 1924 Games, Paris did not attempt to host the Olympics again until it bid, unsuccessfully, for the 1992 Games which were awarded to Barcelona. Subsequent bids for the 2008 and 2012 Games were also unsuccessful, as they were awarded to Beijing and London, respectively. Undeterred, Paris decided to bid once more for the 2024 edition, which would mark the centenary of its last Games.
The six candidate cities were Paris, Hamburg, Boston, Budapest, Rome, and Los Angeles. The bidding process was slowed by withdrawals, political uncertainty, and rising costs. Boston surpassed Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., for the official U.S. bid. On 27 July 2015, Boston and the USOC mutually agreed to terminate Boston's bid to host the Games, partly because of mixed feelings among city residents. Hamburg withdrew its bid on 29 November 2015 after holding a referendum. Rome withdrew on 21 September 2016, citing fiscal difficulties. Budapest withdrew on 22 February 2017, after a petition against the bid collected more signatures than necessary for a referendum.
Following these withdrawals, the IOC Executive Board met on 9 June 2017 in Lausanne, Switzerland, to discuss the 2024 and 2028 bid processes. The International Olympic Committee formally proposed electing the 2024 and 2028 Olympic host cities at the same time, a proposal which an Extraordinary IOC Session approved on 11 July 2017 in Lausanne. The IOC set up a process whereby the LA 2024 and Paris 2024 bid committees met with the IOC to discuss which city would host the Games in 2024 and 2028 and whether it was possible to select the host cities for both at the same time.
Following the decision to award the two Games simultaneously, Paris was understood to be the preferred host for 2024. On 31 July 2017, the IOC announced Los Angeles as the sole candidate for 2028, enabling Paris to be confirmed as host for 2024. The two bids were praised for their high technical plans and innovative ways to use a record-breaking number of existing and temporary facilities. Both decisions were ratified at the 131st IOC Session on 13 September 2017.
Host city election Paris was elected as the host city on 13 September 2017 at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru. The two French IOC members, Guy Drut and Tony Estanguet, were ineligible to vote under the rules of the Olympic Charter. + 2024 Summer Olympics bidding results City Country Vote Paris Selected as 2024 host Los Angeles Selected as 2028 host Hamburg Withdrew Rome Budapest
Development and preparations Venues
Most of the Olympic events were held in the city of Paris and its metropolitan region, including the neighbouring cities of Saint-Denis, Le Bourget, Nanterre, Versailles, and Vaires-sur-Marne.
The basketball preliminaries and handball finals were held in Lille, from the host city, Paris; the sailing and some of the football games were held in the Mediterranean city of Marseille, which is from Paris; meanwhile, the surfing events were held in Teahupo'o village in the overseas territory of Tahiti, French Polynesia, which is from Paris. Football was also hosted in an additional five cities: Bordeaux, Décines-Charpieu (Lyon), Nantes, Nice and Saint-Étienne, some of which are home to clubs.
Grand Paris zone
VenueEventsCapacityStatusRef.Yves du Manoir StadiumField hockey15,000Existing, renovatedStade de FranceRugby sevens77,083ExistingAthletics (track and field)Closing ceremonyParis La Défense ArenaAquatics (swimming, water polo finals)15,220Existing with temporary standsPorte de La Chapelle ArenaBadminton8,000Built for the GamesGymnastics (rhythmic)Paris Aquatic CentreAquatics (water polo preliminaries, diving, artistic swimming)5,000Le Bourget Climbing VenueSport climbing5,000TemporaryArena Paris NordBoxing (preliminaries, quarter-finals)6,000Existing with temporary standsModern pentathlon (fencing)
Paris Centre zone
VenueEventsCapacityStatusParc des PrincesFootball (group stage, quarter-finals and gold medal matches)48,583ExistingStade Roland GarrosTennis36,000(15,000 + 12,000 + 9,000)Boxing (finals)Paris Expo Porte de VersaillesVolleyball18,000(12,000 + 12,000)Table tennisHandball (preliminaries)WeightliftingBercy ArenaGymnastics (artistic and trampolining)15,000Basketball (finals)Grand PalaisFencing8,000Existing with temporary standsTaekwondoPlace de la ConcordeBasketball (3x3)30,000 (overall)TemporaryBreakingCycling (BMX freestyle)SkateboardingHôtel de VilleAthletics (marathon start)1,500Pont Alexandre IIIAquatics (marathon swimming)TriathlonCycling (time trial finish)Trocadéro (Pont d'Iéna)Athletics (race walk)13,000(3,000 sitting)Cycling (road race)Eiffel Tower Stadium (Champ de Mars)Beach volleyball12,000Grand Palais ÉphémèreJudo9,000WrestlingLes InvalidesArchery8,000Athletics (marathon finish)Cycling (time trial start)
Versailles zone
VenueEventsCapacityStatusGardens of VersaillesEquestrian80,000(22,000 + 58,000)TemporaryModern pentathlon (excluding fencing rounds)Le Golf NationalGolf35,000Existing with temporary standsÉlancourt HillCycling (mountain biking)25,000Vélodrome de Saint-Quentin-en-YvelinesCycling (track)5,000ExistingCycling (BMX racing)5,000Existing with temporary stands
Outlying venues
VenueEventsCapacityStatusVaires-sur-Marne Nautical StadiumRowing24,000 (overall)Existing with temporary standsCanoeing (slalom, sprint)Pierre Mauroy Stadium, LilleBasketball (group stage)26,000Handball (finals)Stade Vélodrome, MarseilleFootball (6 group stage matches, quarter-finals, women's and men's semi-finals)67,394ExistingParc Olympique Lyonnais, LyonFootball (6 group stage matches, quarter-finals, men's and women's semi-finals, women's bronze medal match)59,186Stade Matmut Atlantique, BordeauxFootball (6 group stage matches, quarter-finals)42,115Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-ÉtienneFootball (6 group stage matches)41,965Allianz Riviera, NiceFootball (6 group stage matches)35,624Stade de la Beaujoire, NantesFootball (6 group stage matches, quarter-finals, men's bronze medal match)35,322National Shooting Centre, ChâteaurouxShooting3,000, MarseilleSailing5,000Existing with temporary standsTeahupo'o, TahitiSurfing5,000
Non-competitive VenueEventsCapacityStatusJardins du TrocadéroOpening ceremony30,000 / 13,000TemporaryChampions ParkThe SeineOpening ceremony300,000Olympic VillageOlympic Village18,000 athletesBuilt for the GamesAranui 5, TahitiSurfing Olympic Village256 athletesExistingParc de l'Aire des Vents, DugnyMedia Villagestyle="text-align:center;" Temporary, Le BourgetInternational Broadcast Centre15,000ExistingParis Congress CentreMain Press Centre
Medals
The president of the Paris 2024 Olympic Organizing Committee, Tony Estanguet, unveiled the Olympic and Paralympic medals for the Games in February 2024, which on the obverse featured embedded hexagon-shaped tokens of scrap iron that had been taken from the original construction of the Eiffel Tower, with the logo of the Games engraved into it. Approximately 5,084 medals would be produced by the French mint Monnaie de Paris, and were designed by Chaumet, a luxury jewellery firm based in Paris.
The reverse of the medals features Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, inside the Panathenaic Stadium which hosted the first modern Olympics in 1896. Parthenon and the Eiffel Tower can also be seen in the background on both sides of the medal. Each medal weighs , has a diameter of and is thick. The gold medals are made with 98.8 percent silver and 1.13 percent gold, while the bronze medals are made up with copper, zinc, and tin.
Podium
The podiums used at the 2024 games were ecological, manufactured in France by Le Pavé, Global Concept and Giffard, using French wood and 100% recycled plastic. They were painted in gray color as a homage to the roofs of Paris and were inspired by the design of the Eiffel Tower.
The podiums were composed of plastic modules that would be assembled according to the number of medalists awarded. The largest podium, for football, reached 33 meters in length. Podiums for individual events were 3.6 meters long. A total of 685 modules were manufactured using 18 tons of plastic waste.
The podiums were two-toned. The front was white with the Olympic rings and the Paralympic agitos. The top was gray to reflect the zinc of the Parisian rooftops. The inscription "Paris 2024" was on the sides of the steps. The Paralympic modules had ramps for accessibility.
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