The Eiffel Tower is the symbol of the five rings.
Image: Keystone
In the heart of Paris: Place de la Concorde hosts the spectacular street competitions in skateboarding, breaking, BMX freestyle and 3x3 basketball.
Image: Keystone
Royal: Versailles Palace will welcome the riders.
Image: Keystone
The Grand Palais is the spectacular backdrop for the fencers.
Image: Keystone
Sailors compete for medals in front of the port of Marseille.
Image: Keystone
The Eiffel Tower is the symbol of the five rings.
Image: Keystone
In the heart of Paris: Place de la Concorde hosts the spectacular street competitions in skateboarding, breaking, BMX freestyle and 3x3 basketball.
Image: Keystone
Royal: Versailles Palace will welcome the riders.
Image: Keystone
The Grand Palais is the spectacular backdrop for the fencers.
Image: Keystone
Sailors compete for medals in front of the port of Marseille.
Image: Keystone
Beach volleyball in front of the Eiffel Tower, horse riding in the garden of Versailles, surfing on the coast of Tahiti - France spares no effort to deliver iconic images at the Olympic Games.
11.07.2024, 04:01
11.07.2024, 16:01
SDA
Heads once rolled on the Place de la Concorde, for example those of King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette. The French Revolution swept away the monarchy in an orgy of violence, but royal grandeur is still in the blood of the French. They are celebrating this with their choice of sports venues for this summer's games - from Paris to the Pacific.
On the highly symbolic Place de La Concorde, the largest square in Paris, heads will not be rolling this time, but skateboards and BMX bikes, among other things. Around 30,000 visitors, most of them young, will also be able to admire the street basketball players (3x3) and break dancers on temporary stands.
Beach volleyball players can look forward to it
On the other side of the Seine stands the 300-metre-high Eiffel Tower, which was described as "useless and monstrous" when it was unveiled in 1887 and is now the symbol of Paris par excellence. Beach volleyball players serve at its feet. Their sport seems particularly predestined for iconic locations, from the beach in Faliro (Athens 2004) to the Horse Parade Square in the heart of London (2012) and Copacabana (Rio 2016).
In the garden of the former residence of the French kings, the Palace of Versailles, the riders saddle up their horses. In the Grand Palais, built for the 1900 World's Fair with 6,000 tons of steel and the striking glass dome, people fence and fight in taekwondo.
15,000 kilometers away from Paris
Finally, France also shows its best side on the water. Off Marseille, with the island fortress Château d'If, the famous prison of the Count of Monte Cristo, as a backdrop, sailors compete for Olympic medals.
And as if to demonstrate the greatness of the former world power France, the surfing competitions take place on the Pacific island of Tahiti, 15,000 kilometers from Paris. Teahupo'o is a real surfing mecca with waves up to seven meters high, where the World Tour makes regular stops.
The majority of the Paris 2024 competitions will take place in and around Paris. These are divided into three groups.
Paris Center:
- Parc des Princes (48,500 seats): The home stadium of Paris Saint-Germain will host football preliminary round matches as well as the men's and women's finals.
- Stade Roland-Garros (35,000 in total): The renovated site of the French Open at the Bois de Boulogne is the venue for the tennis tournament as well as the medal matches in boxing.
- Expo Porte de Versailles: Volleyball, table tennis, weightlifting and preliminary handball matches take place in two halls of the congress center.
Bercy Arena (15,000): Artistic gymnastics, trampoline and basketball finals.
- Grand Palais (8000): The historic exhibition hall of the 1900 World Expo hosts fencing and taekwondo.
- Place de la Concorde (30,000): On the historic hub in the center of Paris with the Egyptian obelisk of Luxor, large grandstands rise for the trendy sports of 3x3 basketball, breakdancing, BMX freestyle and skateboarding.
- Hôtel de Ville (City Hall, 1500): Start of the marathons.
- Pont Alexandre III (1500). The finish line for the long-distance swimmers, triathletes and time trial cyclists is located on the iconic bridge.
- Trocadéro (13,000): Walking and cycling road race.
- Champ de Mars/Eiffel Tower (12,000/9000): On the Field of Mars, the beach volleyball players will have the Eiffel Tower as an impressive backdrop and the judoka and wrestlers will hold their competitions in the temporary Grand Palais Éphémère. Nearby is the Maison Suisse in the garden of the Swiss Embassy.
- Invalides (8000): Archers compete for medals at the Invalides Cathedral, which houses Napoleon's tomb, among other things. This is also where the cyclists' time trial starts and the two marathons finish.
Grand Paris:
- Stade de France (77,000): The French national stadium in the suburb of Saint-Denis, which was built for the 1998 World Cup, hosts athletics, rugby and the closing ceremony.
- Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium (22,000): The rowers and canoeists compete in the eastern suburb, not far from Disneyland Paris.
- La Défense Arena (15,220): The swimmers and water polo players will be in action in the La Défense business district.
- Stade Colombes (15,000): The historic rugby stadium, which served as the main stadium for the 1924 Olympic Games, will host land field hockey this time.
- Porte de la Chapelle Arena (8,000): Badminton and rhythmic gymnastics.
- Arena Paris Nord (6000): Boxing (up to quarterfinals), modern pentathlon (fencing).
- Paris Aquatic Center (5000): Water polo (preliminary round), synchronized swimming, water diving.
- Le Bourget (5000): Sport climbing.
Versailles:
- Palace of Versailles (80,000): The riders can look forward to a unique backdrop in the gardens of the famous magnificent palace of the Sun King Louis XIV. The modern pentathlon competitions also take place here (except fencing).
- Le Golf national (35,000): The golf course around 25 km southwest of Paris has already hosted the 2018 Ryder Cup.
- Elancourt Hill (25,000): Mountain bikers battle it out for the medals around 35 km west of Paris.
- Vélodrome Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (5000): Close to the mountain bike hill is the velodrome, which has hosted many track world championships. The BMX racers compete right next to it.
Outside Paris:
- Marseille: The Stade Vélodrome (67,000) hosts football matches, including one semi-final each, while the marina (5,000) hosts sailing competitions.
- Lyon (59,000): Football group matches, one semi-final each and the women's bronze medal match.
- Bordeaux (42,000): Football matches up to quarterfinals.
- Saint-Etienne (42,000): Football group matches.
- Nice (35,000): Football group matches.
- Nantes (35,000): Football matches up to quarter-finals and the men's bronze medal match.
- Lille (26,000): The Stade Pierre-Mauroy, where Roger Federer, San Wawrinka and co. won the Davis Cup in 2014, will host basketball group matches and the handball finals.
- Châteauroux (3000): In the small town around three hours south of Paris, the shooters will be in action at the national shooting center.
- Teahupo'o, Tahiti (5000): With the competitions in the surfing mecca in the South Seas, France is presenting itself as a world power. Paris and Tahiti are a good 15,000 kilometers apart.
