In July 2024, thousands of athletes will compete in the Paris Olympics, the largest Summer Games in history. Monday saw the flame ignited at Olympia’s Temple of Hera to start the festival.
Paris Olympics 2024: Everything You Need To Know!
The organizers predict full stadiums and a beautiful opening ceremony on the Seine River in the city center. Actresses dressed as priestesses kindled the flame at the birthplace of the ancient Olympics and will relay it to light the cauldron to open the Games.
First recorded games were in 776 BC. Symbolizing the Games’ enduring spirit, a shrine flame burned continuously in ancient Olympia. The first relay is a 5,000-kilometer course across Greece that will take over 11 days with over 600 torchbearers from elite athletes and ordinary people.
July 26 marks the Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony. July 24 will mark the start of the Paris Olympics 2024 with men’s soccer and rugby group matches. The first men’s game begins at 3pm local (9am ET).
Other sports will begin the day after, but July 26 is the official start.July 26 is the opening of the games, which end August 11. Gymnastics and swimming are prominent in the first half of the calendar, while track and field are popular in the second. Paris hosts its third Olympics after 1900 and 1924.
In his statement, IOC president Thomas Bach said: “Our Olympic Agenda changes will fire up the first Olympic Games. These Olympics will be younger, inclusive, urban, and sustainable.”
Bach said “These will be the very first Olympic Games with full gender parity, because the IOC allocated exactly 50 percent of the places to female and male athletes.”
Dates of events at the 2024 Paris Olympics:
- July 30: Women’s gymnastics (team final)
- August 1: Women’s gymnastics (individual all-around final)
- August 3: Women’s swimming (800-meter freestyle), and Women’s track and field (100-meter final)
- August 4: Men’s track and field (100-meter final)
- August 10: Men’s basketball (gold-medal game); Women’s soccer (gold-medal game)
- August 11: Women’s basketball (gold-medal game)
