2024 Paris Olympic Games, featuring 10,500 athletes, to kick off today
It’s once again time for the biggest sporting extravaganza in the world. The Paris Olympics, featuring over 10,500 athletes from 206 nations from around the world, will kick off with a colourful opening ceremony along the River Seine on Friday.
Three years after the pandemic-stricken Tokyo Olympics, the world is coming back together for the biggest sports event of all. With the competition nigh, Qatar Living looks at some of the key aspects of the quadrennial competition.
What are the dates of the Paris Olympics?
The Olympic Games will run between July 26 and August 11. While the Opening Ceremony is set to be staged on Friday, competitions in some team sports have already begun. Football and rugby sevens began on Wednesday, and archery and handball kicked off on Thursday.
The Paris Olympics will feature 32 sports and 329 medal events, all spread across 35 venues. The official motto of the Paris Olympics is ‘Games Wide Open.’
What time does the Opening Ceremony begin?
With almost 100 boats carrying more than 10,500 athletes along a six-kilometre route down the River Seine, this year’s Opening Ceremony is expected to create history for its complexity and scale of public participation. The Opening Ceremony will begin at 7.30pm Doha time on Friday.
Ace Qatari high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim and woman sprinter Shahad Mohamed will carry the country’s flag at the Opening Ceremony.
Who are the Qatari athletes competing at the Paris Olympics?
Qatar will field a 14-member team, in five disciplines, at the Paris Olympics.
Eight athletics stars — led by triple world and reigning Olympic champion high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim — will lead Qatar’s charge.
Mutaz, who will be competing in his last Olympics, will seek to end with a win. Abderrahman Samba, Bassem Hemeida, and Ismail Dawood (all 400M hurdles), Abubakar Hayder (800M), Ammar Ismail (400M), Saif Mohammed (pole vault) and Shahad Mohamed (women’s 400M) are the other Qatari track and field stars in the fray.
Trap shooter Saeed Abusharib, skeet shooter Rashid Saleh Al Athba, weightlifter Fares Ibrahim, the Qatari beach volleyball team of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, and swimmer Abdulaziz Al Obaidly are the other Qatari athletes in the fray.
What are the Olympic medals at Paris 2024 made of?
Each Olympic medal will have an original iron piece of the Eiffel Tower in it. These pieces were cut from girders and other bits swapped out of the Eiffel Tower during renovations. Since the French refer to their country as ‘L’Hexagone’ due to its geographical shape, the iron pieces inside the medals will bear a hexagonal form. Around the iron pieces of the Eiffel Tower are disks of gold, silver, or bronze.
Which country is expected to dominate the medals table?
Just like the last seven Summer Olympics, Team USA is expected to end the Games with the most number of medals. According to predictions by Nielsen’s Gracenote, which released a Virtual Medal Table forecast for the 2024 Games a month before the start of the Paris Olympics, predicted USA winning 123 medals, 10 more than it did in Tokyo 2020. It also predicted China to finish second with 87 medals.
Who is the oldest athlete competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics?
Canadian Mario Deslauriers, who will compete in equestrian events, will be Paris 2024’s oldest athlete at 59 years of age. Deslauriers has previously competed at the 1984 and 1988 Games before returning to Tokyo 2020 after a 33-year gap. Deslauriers was 19 when he made his Olympics debut.
Olympic competition dates, sport by sport…
Opening ceremony: July 26, River Seine
Archery: July 25 to August 4, Invalides
Artistic gymnastics: July 25 to August 4, Bercy Arena
Artistic swimming: August 5 to 10, Bercy Arena
Athletics: August 1 to 11, Stade de France (track and field), Trocadero (race walks), Invalides (marathons)
Badminton: July 27 to August 5, La Chapelle Arena
3×3 Basketball: July 30 to August 5, La Concorde
Basketball: July 27 to August 11, Pierre Mauroy Stadium (group phase) and Bercy Arena (finals)
Beach volleyball: July 27 to August 10, Eiffel Tower Stadium
Boxing: July 27 to August 10, North Paris Arena and Roland-Garros Stadium
Breaking: August 9 and 10, La Concorde
Canoe slalom: July 27 to August 5, Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium – Whitewater
Canoe sprint: August 6 to 10, Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium – Flatwater
Cycling BMX: July 30 to August 2, La Concorde (freestyle), BMX Stadium (racing)
Cycling mountain bike: July 28-29, Elancourt Hill
Cycling road: July 27 to August 4, Pont Alexandre III (time trials), Trocadero (road races)
Cycling track: August 5 to 11, National Velodrome
Diving: July 27 to August 10, Aquatics Centre
Equestrian: July 27 to August 6, Chateau de Versailles
Fencing: July 27 to August 4, Grand Palais
Football: July 24 to August 10, Bordeaux Stadium, Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium, La Beaujoire Stadium, Lyon Stadium, Marseille Stadium, Nice Stadium and Parc de Princes (finals)
Golf: August 1 to 10, Le Golf National
Handball: July 25 to August 11, South Paris Arena (group stage), Pierre Mauroy Stadium (knockout phase)
Hockey: July 27 to August 9, Yves-du-Manoir Stadium
Judo: July 27 to August 3, Champ-de-Mars Arena
Marathon swimming: August 8-9, Pont Alexandre III
Modern pentathlon: August 8 to 11, North Paris Arena (ranking round), Chateau de Versailles
Rhythmic gymnastics: August 8 to 10, La Chapelle Arena
Rowing: July 27 to August 3, Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium – Flatwater
Rugby sevens: July 24 to 30, Stade de France
Sailing: July 28 to August 8, Marseille Marina
Shooting: July 27 to August 5, Chateauroux Shooting Centre
Skateboarding: July 27 to August 7, La Concorde
Sport climbing: August 5 to 10, Le Bourget Climbing Venue
Surfing: July 27 to August 4, Teahupo’o, Tahiti
Swimming: July 27 to August 4, Paris La Defense Arena
Table tennis: July 27 to August 10, South Paris Arena
Taekwondo: August 7 to 10, Grand Palais
Tennis: July 27 to August 4, Roland Garros
Trampoline gymnastics: August 2, Bercy Arena
Triathlon: July 30 to August 5, Pont Alexandre III
Volleyball: July 27 to August 11, South Paris Arena
Water polo: July 27 to August 11, Aquatics Centre, Paris La Defense Arena
Weightlifting: August 7 to 11, South Paris Arena
Wrestling: August 5 to 11, Champ-de-Mars Arena
Closing ceremony: August 11, Stade de France
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