2024 Summer Olympics

The 2024 Summer Olympics (French: Les Jeux Olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (French: Jeux de la XXXIIIe olympiade de l'ère moderne) and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held from 26 July to 11 August 2024 in France, with several events started from 24 July. Paris was the host city, with events (mainly football) held in 16 additional cities spread across 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; both bids were praised for their high technical plans and innovative ways to use a record-breaking number of existing and temporary facilities. Having previously hosted in 1900 and 1924, Paris became the second city ever to host the Summer Olympics three times (after London, which hosted the games in 1908, 1948, and 2012). Paris 2024 marked the centenary of the 1924 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) and the first with this distinction since the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville. 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 with as 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 is the first time a gold medal tie among the two most successful nations has occurred in Summer Olympic history. Japan finished third with 20 gold medals and sixth in the overall medal count. Australia finished fourth with 18 gold medals and fifth in the overall medal count. The host nation, France, finished fifth with 16 gold and 64 total medals, 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, 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).
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, DC, 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. Both decisions were ratified at the 131st IOC Session on 13 September 2017.
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.
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, 225 km (140 mi) from the host city, Paris; the sailing and some of the football games were held in the Mediterranean city of Marseille, which is 777 km (483 mi) from Paris; meanwhile, the surfing events were held in Teahupo'o village in the overseas territory of Tahiti, French Polynesia, which is 15,716 km (9,765 mi) 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 Ligue 1 clubs.
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 455–529 g (16–19 oz), has a diameter of 85 mm (3.3 in) and is 9.2 mm (0.36 in) 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.
France reached an agreement with Europol and the UK Home Office to help strengthen security and "facilitate operational information exchange and international law enforcement cooperation" during the Games. The agreement included a plan to deploy more drones and sea barriers to prevent small boats from crossing the Channel illegally. The British Army would also provide support by deploying Starstreak surface-to-air missile units for air security. To prepare for the Games, the Paris police held inspections and rehearsals in their bomb disposal unit, similar to their preparations for the 2023 Rugby World Cup at the Stade de France.
As part of a visit to France by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, several agreements were signed between the two nations to enhance security for the Olympics. In preparation for the significant security demands and counterterrorism measures, Poland pledged to contribute security troops, including sniffer dog handlers, to support international efforts aimed at ensuring the safety of the Games. The Qatari Minister of Interior and Commander of Lekhwiya (the Qatari security forces) convened a meeting on 3 April 2024 to discuss security operations ahead of the Olympics, with officials and security leaders in attendance, including Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Sheikh Jassim bin Mansour Al Thani. A week before the opening ceremony, the Lekhwiya were reported to have been deployed in Paris on 16 July 2024.
In the weeks running up to the opening of the Paris Olympics, it was reported that police officers would be deployed from Belgium, Brazil, Canada (through the RCMP/OPS/CPS/SQ), Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany (through Bundespolizei/NRW Police), India, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain (through the CNP/GC), Sweden, the UAE, the UK, and the US (through the LAPD, LASD, NYPD, and the Fairfax County Police Department), with more than 40 countries providing police assistance to their French counterparts.
Security concerns impacted the plans that had been announced for the opening ceremony, which was to take place as a public event along the Seine; the expected attendance was reduced by half from an estimated 600,000 to 300,000, with plans for free viewing locations now being by invitation only. In April 2024, after Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Crocus City Hall attack in March, and made several threats against the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, French president Emmanuel Macron indicated that the opening ceremony could be scaled back or re-located if necessary. French authorities had placed roughly 75,000 police and military officials on the streets of Paris in the lead-up to the Games.
Following the end of the Games, the national counterterrorism prosecutor, Olivier Christen, revealed that French authorities foiled three terror plots meant to attack the Olympic and Paralympic Games, resulting in the arrest of five suspects.
To reduce the environmental impact and climate footprint of the Paris 2024 Games, the Olympic venues served twice as much plant-based food as was available in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016. Vegan chicken nuggets and vegan hot dogs were served in place of the meat-based variety. Venues for spectators served on average two-thirds plant-based meals. The Place de la Concorde, the venue that hosted the skateboarding, breakdancing and BMX events, only served plant-based food. The football stadiums served 40% plant-based food. About 30% of the meals served to athletes in the Olympic Village were plant-based.
A prior estimate of 13 million meals will be served at the Games; with around 40,000 meals each day, 1,200 of those will be Michelin-starred. Each day, a boulangerie will bake fresh baguettes and other breads. A 3,500-seat restaurant was constructed for the Games to highlight global cuisine. Great Britain's team asked for porridge to be added to the menu, and South Korea's team asked for kimchi.
Throughout the Games, various athletes and competitors at the Olympic Village complained about certain foods within the accommodation such as eggs and grilled meats not being available in sufficient quantity. British athletes also reportedly complained about raw meat being served and the food issues led many of them to begin to avoid the Olympic Village dining facilities and to eat elsewhere; the British Olympic Association having flown in chefs to take care of the nourishment of British athletes at a location outside the Olympic Village.
In the lead-up to the Games, it was announced that the Olympic Village would lack air conditioning; as an environmental measure, the buildings would instead use a geothermal natural cooling system to keep the inside temperature 6 °C (11 °F) cooler than outside. On learning this, many teams opted to supply their own air-conditioning units to the Games, including Canada, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Japan, and the US. Olympic delegations from poorer countries, such as Uganda, complained that they could not afford to provide air conditioning for their athletes.
Over €500 million was invested in transport improvements for the Games, with extensions to the Paris Métro and 60 kilometres (37 mi) of new cycle lanes. Visitors to Paris paid higher public transport fares during the Games, €4 instead of the previous €2.15 price. This paid for the increased frequency and hours of service for public transport during the Games, with an average increase of 15% in services. As with previous Games, 185 kilometres (115 mi) of reserved traffic lanes was used to ensure reliable journey times for athletes, officials and the media.
The Paris 2024 volunteer platform for the Olympic and Paralympic Games was opened to the public in March 2023. There were expected to be 45,000 volunteers recruited worldwide for the Games. Following the end of registration on 3 May 2023, over 300,000 applications had been submitted to the Paris Organising Committee, exceeding the number of applicants for the previous two Olympics. Applicants were notified of the outcome of their application between September and December 2023. Over 800 applicants were excluded over security fears, among which 15 were flagged with Fiche S.
The Olympic torch relay began with the lighting of the Olympic flame on 16 April in Olympia, Greece, 100 days before the start of the Games. Greek rower Stefanos Douskos was the first torchbearer and swimmer Laure Manaudou served as the first French torchbearer. The latter was selected to be one of four captains of the torch relay, alongside swimmer Florent Manaudou (her brother), paratriathlete Mona Francis, and para-athlete Dimitri Pavadé. The torch relay was expected to have 10,000 torchbearers and visit over 400 settlements in 65 French territories, including six overseas. On 18 May, it was reported that the portion of the relay in New Caledonia was cancelled due to ongoing unrest in the collectivity.
9.5 million of the 10 million tickets available for the games were sold. Several sports reported record attendance.
The opening ceremony began at 19:30 CEST (17:30 GMT) on 26 July 2024. Directed by Thomas Jolly, it was the first Summer Olympics opening ceremony to be held outside the traditional stadium setting (and the second ever after the 2018 Youth Olympic Games one, held at Plaza de la República in Buenos Aires); the parade of athletes was conducted as a boat parade along the Seine from Pont d'Austerlitz to Pont d'Iéna, and cultural segments took place at various landmarks along the route. Jolly stated that the ceremony would highlight notable moments in the history of France, with an overall theme of love and "shared humanity". The athletes then attended the official protocol at Jardins du Trocadéro, in front of the Eiffel Tower. Approximately 326,000 tickets were sold for viewing locations along the Seine, 222,000 of which were distributed primarily to the Games' volunteers, youth and low-income families, among others.
The ceremony featured music performances by American musician Lady Gaga, French-Malian singer Aya Nakamura, heavy metal band Gojira and soprano Marina Viotti, Axelle Saint-Cirel (who sang the French national anthem "La Marseillaise" atop the Grand Palais), rapper Rim'K, Philippe Katerine (who portrayed the Greek god Dionysus), Juliette Armanet and Sofiane Pamart, and was closed by Canadian singer Céline Dion. The Games were formally opened by president Emmanuel Macron.
The Olympics and Paralympics cauldron was lit by Guadeloupean judoka Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-José Pérec; it had a hot air balloon-inspired design topped by a 30-metre-tall (98 ft) helium sphere, and was allowed to float into the air above the Tuileries Garden at night. For the first time, the cauldron was not illuminated through combustion; the flames were simulated by an LED lighting system and aerosol water jets.
Controversy ensued at the opening ceremony when a segment was interpreted by some as a parody of the Last Supper. The organisers apologised for any offence caused. The Olympic World Library and fact-checkers would later debunk the interpretation that the segment was a parody of the Last Supper. The Olympic flag was also raised upside down.
During the day of the opening ceremony, there were reports of a blackout in Paris, although this was later debunked.
The programme of the 2024 Summer Olympics featured 329 events in 32 sports, encompassing a total of 48 disciplines. This included the 28 "core" Olympic sports contested in 2016 and 2020, and 4 optional sports that were proposed by the Paris Organising Committee: breakdancing made its Olympic debut as an optional sport, while skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing returned to the programme, having debuted at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Four events were dropped from weightlifting. In canoeing, two sprint events were replaced with two slalom events, keeping the overall event total at 16. In sport climbing, the previous "combined" event was divided into two separate disciplines: speed climbing, and boulder-and-lead.
When Paris was bidding for the Games in August 2017, the Paris Organising Committee announced an intention to hold talks with the IOC and professional esports organisations about the possibility of introducing competitive esports events in 2024. In July 2018, the IOC confirmed that esports would not be considered for the 2024 Olympics. At the 134th IOC Session in June 2019, the IOC approved the Paris Organising Committee's proposed optional sports of breaking (breakdance), along with skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing, three sports that were first included in 2020.
In the 2024 Paris Olympics, several new events and formats have been introduced. Formula Kite made its debut, described as the "Formula One of the Olympics", featuring high-speed foil racing with separate events for men and women. Kayak cross also debuted, where four athletes race against each other on a course with multiple gates, marking the first head-to-head race in Olympic canoe slalom history. Sport climbing returned with a new format, splitting into bouldering and lead combined events in addition to a speed event. 3x3 basketball, which debuted in Tokyo, was back with finals scheduled for August 5 at Place de La Concorde. Changes in other sports included the introduction of men's participation in artistic swimming, a new women's weight class in boxing, and the addition of a marathon race walk mixed relay in track and field.
In addition to the Medalist Celebrations and the protocolar parts of the Opening Ceremonies, the Champions Park also received some medal reallocation ceremonies from previous Olympics dating back as far as 2000. Due to new IOC rules and protocols, one specific medal awarding ceremony was held in this venue figure skating team event from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. It had been the first Olympic medal ceremony to be delayed after Kamila Valieva from original gold medalist Russia was reported and then confirmed to have tested positive in 2021 for trimetazidine. In January 2024, the Court of Arbitration for Sport disqualified Valieva for four years retroactive to 25 December 2021 for an anti-doping rule violation, and the International Skating Union subsequently subtracted Valieva's scores, which upgraded the United States and Japan to gold and silver respectively.Under the IOC's new Medal Reallocation Rules, the IOC, the ISU, and the National Olympic Committees for both the United States and Japan coordinated this medal ceremony.There was thus trail maintenance used during Beijing 2022. However, both delegations for weather reasons were wearing their Paris 2024 uniforms.The Beijing 2022 soundtrack was still used for the medal ceremony, but both teams wore Paris 2024 national uniforms and it was the first medal ceremony from the 2022 Winter Olympics to have a full crowd, as there had been reduced audiences in 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The closing ceremony was held at Stade de France on 11 August 2024, and thus marked the first time in any Olympic edition since Sarajevo 1984 that opening and closing ceremonies were held in different locations. Titled "Records", the ceremony was themed around a dystopian future, where the Olympic Games have disappeared, and a group of aliens reinvent it. It featured more than a hundred performers, including acrobats, dancers and circus artists.During the handover ceremonies,the American actor Tom Cruise also appeared with American performers Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg, and H.E.R. during the LA28 Handover Celebration portion of the ceremony. The Antwerp Ceremony, in which the Olympic flag was handed to Los Angeles, the host city of the 2028 Summer Olympics, was produced by Ben Winston and his studio Fulwell 73.
204 out of 206 National Olympic Committees are represented at the 2024 Summer Games with 54 from Africa, 48 from Europe, 44 from Asia, 41 from the Americas and 17 from Oceania. North Korea returned to the Games in 2024, after serving a cycle of suspension due to the “boycott” of the 2020 Summer Olympics. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the IOC suspended the Olympic Committees of Russia and Belarus for violating the Olympic Truce. Russian and Belarusian athletes instead competed as "Individual Neutral Athletes" (AIN) without national identification, as long as they did not "actively" support the war. Individual neutral athletes had to be approved by each sport's international federation, and then the IOC's panel. As individual athletes, AIN was not considered a delegation during the opening ceremony or in the medal tables. The Refugee Olympic Team also competed.
Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees
In the following calendar for the 2024 Summer Olympics, each blue box represents an event competition, such as a qualification round, on that day. The yellow boxes represent days during which medal-awarding finals for a sport were held. On the left, the calendar lists each sport with events held during the Games, and at the right how many gold medals were won in that sport. There is a key at the top of the calendar to aid the reader.
‡ Changes in medal standings (see below)
* Host nation (France)
There was one podium sweep during the games:
The emblem for the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics was unveiled on 21 October 2019 at the Grand Rex. Inspired by Art Deco, it is a representation of Marianne, the national personification of France, with a flame formed in negative space by her hair. The emblem also resembles a gold medal. Tony Estanguet explained that the emblem symbolised "the power and the magic of the Games", and the Games being "for people". The use of a female figure also serves as an homage to the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, which were the first to allow women to participate. The emblem was designed by the French designer Sylvain Boyer with the French design agencies Royalties & Ecobranding.
The emblem for Paris 2024 was considered the biggest new logo release of 2019 by many design magazines. An Opinion Way survey showed that 83 per cent of French people say they liked the new Paris 2024 Games emblem. Approval ratings were high, with 82 per cent of those surveyed finding it aesthetically appealing and 78 per cent finding it to be creative. It was met with some mockery on social media, one user commenting that the logo "would be better suited to a dating site or a hair salon".
For the first time, the corresponding Paralympics shared the same emblem as the Olympics, with no difference bar the governing bodies' logo, reflecting a shared "ambition" between both events.
On 14 November 2022, the Phryges were unveiled as the mascots of the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics; they are a pair of anthropomorphic Phrygian caps, a historic French symbol of freedom and liberty. Marianne is commonly depicted wearing the Phrygian cap, including in the Eugène Delacroix painting, Liberty Leading the People. The two mascots share a motto of "Alone we go faster, but together we go further".
In April 2024, the official Olympic video game titled Olympics Go! Paris 2024 was announced for release in June by Animoca Brands on Android, iOS, and Microsoft Windows devices. The 2024 Summer Olympics became the first Summer Olympics in over 30 years to not have an official console video game.
The Olympic poster for these games was revealed on 4 March 2024. Designed by Ugo Gattoni, the poster uses a diptych design, with one half representing the Olympics and the other half representing the Paralympics. For the first time in Summer Games history, the Olympic poster and Paralympic poster were designed together, as each one can work independently as halves, or be combined into one poster all together. The posters took 2,000 hours, across six months to complete.
A TGM Research survey found that Coca-Cola was globally the most connected brand with the 2024 Olympics, with 23% of people mentioning it. Nike came in second with 16%, despite not being an official sponsor of the Olympic Games.
Belgian beverage company AB InBev became the first Worldwide Olympic Partner during the Games, while three companies will not renew their sponsorships after 2024; automobile manufacturer Toyota, reportedly unhappy with how the IOC has used its sponsorship money, arguing that it is not effectively used to support athletes or promote sport; Panasonic, under continuous management considerations regarding sponsorship, with the company also looking to expand its businesses outside consumer electronics; and Bridgestone, with the company instead wanting to strengthen its motorsports division.
Under an agreement as "Premium" sponsor reportedly valued at €150 million ($163 million), French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH has been involved in aspects of the Games, with its brand Louis Vuitton having provided the trunks used to store the Olympic torch and medals, and the outfits and trays for medal presenters. Former IOC marketing head Michael Payne raised concerns that the prominent use of LVMH goods as part of the Olympics (and in particular, the opening ceremony, which also featured the aforementioned items as props, and performers Aya Nakamura and Lady Gaga wearing Dior haute couture) could cause conflicts with other official sponsors, noting that "the direction of stylish sponsor product placement may not be wrong but needs exceptionally careful management. LVMH got a massive free global ad last night and other partners are all going to be asking, how did that work?"
In France, domestic rights to the 2024 Summer Olympics are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (formerly Discovery Inc.) via Eurosport, with free-to-air coverage sublicensed to the country's public broadcaster France Télévisions. WBD networks will broadcast from Hôtel Raphael, with dedicated studios for its British, French, Polish, and Nordic channels.
The official Olympics website offers both live-streaming and recent recordings of the events in selected markets, particularly in Brazil, Russia (due to Russian broadcasters pulling out), and the Indian subcontinent.
Several controversial issues occurred related to the 2024 Summer Olympics, including environmental and security concerns, human rights, terrorism, and controversies over allowing Israel to participate amidst the Gaza war, and allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While there is nominally an Olympic Truce in place as is usual, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Israel–Hamas war set a more conflicted political background to the 2024 Summer Olympics, before considering domestic and sporting issues.
A portion of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics sparked significant controversy worldwide for its inclusion of a reenactment of Jan van Bijlert's Le Festin des Dieux, which depicts various Greek gods partaking in a banquet at Mount Olympus. The performance faced heavy backlash from Christian and conservative groups, who accused the performance representing the feast of Dionysus as mocking Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper.
The artistic director of the ceremony, Thomas Jolly, the ceremony’s creative team, and many art historians later confirmed that the performance was unrelated to Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper. Jolly additionally later stated, "The idea was instead to have a grand pagan festival connected to the gods of Olympus, Olympism".
The Olympic World Library would later publish a media guide (written before the ceremony) describing it as being a homage to cultural festivities. According to Georgian fact checking website Myth Detector, many experts had pointed out the differences between The Last Supper fresco and the performance.
The performance, however, also received praise from others for "celebrating queer visibility and LGBTQ+ inclusivity", according to American magazine Cosmopolitan. Among those who expressed appreciation for the segment were American actress Jodie Sweetin, as well as Le Filip, a Croatian-French drag queen who won the third season of Drag Race France.