Every four years, the world erupts in Olympic fever, but this year will be different. The 2020 Olympics were postponed for obvious reasons, resulting in a low-key and rather depressing event in 2021, played in empty stadiums due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Tokyo. This means expectations are at an all-time high, and the 2024 Paris Games (officially known as the 33rd Olympiad) have the potential to be the biggest and most-watched in history. Here's what you need to know about the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
In a nutshell
- The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics will take place from July 26th to August 11th.
- A total of 329 events will take place, with around 10,500 athletes from 184 countries taking part.
- Breakdancing will be appearing at the Olympics for the first time this year.
- You can watch the game live stream on Peacock.
When will the 2024 Olympics take place and how long will they last?
The Olympics will kick off with the Opening Ceremony on Friday 26 July and run until Sunday 11 August, concluding with the Closing Ceremony. However, if you can't wait until then, several sports will begin before the official Opening Ceremony: Football and Rugby Sevens will begin on Wednesday 24 July, while Archery and Handball will begin on Thursday 25 July.
What is a sporting event?
Athletes will compete in 32 sports for a total of 329 gold medals. Breakdancing will be making its Olympic debut, while skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing will be making their second Olympic appearances. The full list of sports is as follows:
- The swimming events will consist of two artistic swimming events, two diving events, two marathon swimming events, 35 general swimming events and two water polo events.
- Archery, five events.
- Track and field, 48 events.
- Badminton, 5 events.
- Basketball consists of two 5-on-5 games and two 3-on-3 games.
- Boxing, 13 events.
- Breaking news, two events.
- The canoeing competition consists of six slalom events and ten sprint events.
- Cycling will consist of two BMX freestyle events, two BMX racing events, two mountain biking events, four road cycling events and 12 track cycling events.
- Equestrian sports consist of two events each: dressage, eventing, and show jumping.
- Fencing, 12 events.
- Field hockey, two sports.
- Football, also known as soccer, is a two-event.
- Golf, two sports.
- The gymnastics competition will consist of 14 artistic gymnastics events, two rhythmic gymnastics events, and two trampoline events.
- Handball, two events.
- Judo, 15 events.
- Modern pentathlon, two events.
- Rowing, 14 events.
- Rugby sevens, two events.
- Sailing, 10 events.
- Shooting, 15 events.
- Skateboarding, 4 disciplines.
- Sport climbing, four disciplines.
- Surfing, two disciplines.
- Table tennis, 5 events.
- Taekwondo, 8 events.
- Tennis, 5 events.
- Triathlon, three events.
- Volleyball, two types of regular volleyball and two types of beach volleyball.
- Weightlifting, 10 events.
- Wrestling: 12 freestyle events, 6 Greco-Roman events.
Sports change from tournament to tournament. For example, there are fewer weightlifting events this time. Every sport has at least two events because the sports are split into male and female categories. Sports with an odd number of sports have at least one event that is male-only or female-only.
Which countries are participating?
A total of 184 countries will participate in the Paris Olympics, with around 10,500 athletes. The number of athletes each country sends varies greatly, with some smaller nations sending just one athlete, while the United States leads with 588. In addition to these 184 countries, Russia and Belarus will be sending 45 athletes. As both countries have been disqualified from participating in the Olympics by the International Olympic Committee, their athletes will compete as “Individual Neutral Athletes”, or AIN (French for short).
The participating countries and the number of athletes representing them are as follows:
- Albania, 5.
- Algeria, 36.
- Andorra, one.
- Angola, 20 years old.
- Antigua and Barbuda, three.
- Argentina, 125.
- Armenia, 12.
- Alba, 5.
- Australia, 429.
- Austria, 61 years old.
- Azerbaijan, 36 years old.
- Bahamas, 11.
- Bahrain, 10th place.
- Bangladesh, 2.
- Barbados, two.
- Belgium, 145.
- Benin, one.
- Bermuda, 5.
- Bhutan, one.
- Bolivia, 1.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina, three.
- Botswana, 5.
- Brazil, 235.
- British Virgin Islands, two.
- Bulgaria, 41.
- Burkina Faso, 5;
- Burundi, two.
- Cameroon, 2.
- Canada, 291.
- Cape Verde, 4.
- Cayman Islands, two.
- Central African Republic, 1.
- Chad, 3.
- Chile, 38 years old.
- China, 368.
- Columbia, 79.
- Comoros, one.
- Costa Rica, 4.
- Croatia, 61.
- Cuba, 48.
- Cyprus, 11.
- Czech Republic, 88.
- Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2;
- Denmark, 118.
- Djibouti, 4.
- Dominica, one.
- Dominican Republic, 48.
- Ecuador, 31 years old.
- Egypt, 144.
- El Salvador, 5.
- Eritrea, 8th place.
- Estonia, 21 years old.
- Ethiopia, 31 years old.
- Fiji, 30 years old.
- Finland, 37.
- France, 547.
- Gabon, 1.
- Gambia, 2.
- Georgia, 26 years old.
- Germany, 396.
- Ghana, 6.
- Great Britain, 310.
- Greece, 76.
- Grenada, 3.
- Guam, 5.
- Guatemala, 11.
- Guinea, 18 years old.
- Guinea-Bissau, 2.
- Guyana, one.
- Haiti, two.
- Hong Kong, 34 years old.
- Honduras, 2.
- Hungary, 154.
- Iceland, 3.
- India, 100.
- Indonesia, 26.
- Iran, 37 years old.
- Iraq, 19 years old.
- Ireland, 118.
- Israel, 86.
- Italy, 335.
- Côte d'Ivoire, 9.
- Jamaica, 38 years old.
- Japan, 367.
- Jordan, 10 years old.
- Kazakhstan, 66 years old.
- Kenya, 66 years old.
- Kiribati, one.
- Kosovo, 6.
- Kuwait, 5.
- Kyrgyzstan, 13.
- Laos, one.
- Latvia, 18 years old.
- Lebanon, 5.
- Lesotho, 3.
- Liberia, 6.
- Libya, 3.
- Liechtenstein, one.
- Lithuania, 42.
- Luxembourg, 11.
- Madagascar, two.
- Malaysia, 22 years old.
- Maldives, two.
- Mari, 19 years old.
- Malta, two.
- Marshall Islands, one.
- Mauritius, 8.
- Mexico, 96.
- Moldova, 16 years old.
- Monaco, 3.
- Mongolia, 19 years old.
- Montenegro, 15.
- Morocco, 55.
- Mozambique, 4.
- Myanmar, one.
- Namibia, 4.
- Nepal, 4.
- Netherlands, 232.
- New Zealand, 184.
- Nicaragua, 3.
- Niger, 3.
- Nigeria, 76.
- North Korea, 14.
- North Macedonia, 3.
- Norway, 94.
- Oman, one.
- Pakistan, 4.
- Palestine, 3.
- Panama, 4.
- Papua New Guinea, 3.
- Paraguay, 28 years old.
- Peru, 22 years old.
- Philippines, 18 years old.
- Poland, 183.
- Portugal, 53.
- Puerto Rico, 27.
- Qatar, 10th place.
- Republic of the Congo, 3.
- Romania, 100.
- Rwanda, 6.
- Saint Lucia, 3.
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, one.
- Samoan, 21 years old.
- San Marino, two.
- Saudi Arabia, 5.
- Senegal, 6.
- Serbia, 109.
- Singapore, 22.
- Slovakia, 22.
- Slovenia, 77.
- South Africa, 136.
- South Korea, 123.
- South Sudan, 12.
- Spain, 347.
- Sri Lanka, one.
- Sudan, 1.
- Suriname, 3.
- Sweden, 96.
- Switzerland, 100.
- Syria, 3.
- Chinese Taipei, 47 years old.
- Tajikistan, 5.
- Tanzania, 4.
- Thailand, 44 years old.
- Togo, two.
- Tonga, one.
- Trinidad and Tobago, 13.
- Tunisia, 24.
- Türkiye, 87.
- Turkmenistan, 1.
- Uganda, 18 years old.
- Ukraine, 123.
- United Arab Emirates, 4.
- America, 588.
- Uruguay, 20.
- Uzbekistan, 70 years old.
- Vanuatu, two.
- Venezuela, 27.
- Vietnam, 12.
- Virgin Islands, three.
- Yemen, one.
- Zambia, 21 years old.
- Zimbabwe, 5.
An additional 36 athletes will compete as part of the Refugee Olympic Team.
What is the schedule for the 2024 Olympics?
The Olympic schedule is constantly changing as events overrun or unexpected events occur. However, the International Olympic Committee publishes a detailed timetable, which can be searched by event and date, and the schedule is updated as event times change.
How to watch the Paris 2024 Olympics
NBCUniversal has been the exclusive broadcaster of the Olympics in the United States since 1988. The company's current contract with the International Olympic Committee extends through the 2032 Olympics.
Peacock will be a first for the Olympic Games and will stream every event live. NBC will broadcast at least nine hours of Olympic coverage each day and three hours of nightly programming providing highlights, analysis and entertainment. Events will also be available on USA Network, GOLF Channel, CNBC and E!
In addition to Peacock, NBC will also provide plenty of live coverage, highlights and commentary on the network's official Olympics site and app.
Where is the opening ceremony?
The Opening Ceremony is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm local time in Paris on Friday, July 26th (1:30 pm Eastern time, taking into account time zones). For the first time in history, the Opening Ceremony will not take place at the Olympic Stadium, but instead the athletes will travel in a convoy down the Seine River. Over 300,000 spectators will watch from the grandstands along the riverside. The procession will end at the Trocadéro Gardens, where the final part of the Opening Ceremony will take place.
Where will the Paris Olympics be held?
A total of 35 venues will be used at the Paris Olympics. Most are in or near Paris, but there are also some further afield, such as Lille, Vers-sur-Marne, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Saint-Étienne, Nice, Nantes and Châteauroux. Most of these will be for the qualifying rounds for football and the ocean sports. Surfing will take place in Tahiti, part of French Polynesia, some 10,000 miles away from any other competition venues.
In Paris, organizers have made admirable efforts towards sustainability, primarily using existing venues and sites rather than building huge venues for the Games and then leaving them empty afterwards, as cities often do.
Athletics and rugby sevens will be held at the Stade de France, France's largest football stadium, while tennis and boxing will take place at the Stade Roland Garros, famous for hosting the French Open. Swimming will take place at the Paris La Défense Arena and the Paris Aquatic Centre, and several of Paris' public squares will be temporarily transformed into sports venues. Place de la Concorde will host basketball, breakdancing, BMX and skateboarding (the other squares must be a little jealous that all this cool competition is being held there), and the Grand Palais will host fencing and taekwondo. It's going to be an exciting time in Paris!
How to buy tickets
At the moment only resold tickets are available. Luckily there is an official resale platform so anyone with tickets they can't use can sell them on the official app.
Accommodation and Travel
To be honest, it's too late to plan your Olympic trip now. There's less than a month until the Olympics. But if you're willing to pay for it, there are ways. The official advice from the IOC is to try Airbnb. This advice may or may not have something to do with Olympic sponsorship. By April, over 50% of the city's hotel rooms were booked for the duration of the Olympics. But as the Olympics get closer, you're more likely to find a good deal, so there's always a chance.
What to do in Paris
Everyone knows that Paris is beautiful. Paris is famous for being beautiful. If other cities are incredibly beautiful, they may be compared to Paris. Known as the City of Light and the City of Love because it is known for being incredibly romantic, Paris is filled with fascinating places. The Louvre is, of course, world famous as the home of the Mona Lisa and many other beautiful works of art, but Paris has so much more to offer, including the Musee D'orsay, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, and more.
AP Byline Director
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games promises to feature world-class competition against the backdrop of one of the world's most beautiful cities. We've rounded up all the broadcast and streaming options so you can catch the action from home.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What's the best way to watch the Olympics online?
For US viewers, the best ways to watch Paris 2024 online are NBC.com, NBCOlympics.com, the Peacock app, the NBC Olympics app, the NBC Sports app and the NBC app. All events will be streamed live, with highlight shows airing nightly.
When and where will the next Olympics be held?
The 2028 Olympic Games will be held in the United States. They will take place in Los Angeles from July 14 to July 30, 2028.
How many times has Paris hosted the Olympic Games?
Paris has hosted the Olympic Games twice, in 1900 and 1924. The 1900 Games were the first to allow women to compete, and Swiss-born New Yorker Hélène de Pourtales became the first female Olympic champion in sailing.
read more: How to watch the 2024 Olympics
