Paris 2024 Olympics
I’m a complete olympic newbie, I’ve never followed it closely but this year I’m invested in it because it’s in Paris. I’m going to make the most of the events while they’re here because I don’t see myself ever travelling for the games. For the Paris games, I don’t have any of the additional costs associated with the games like travel or accommodation. Don’t get me wrong, there are issues with how some things have been handled like the “social cleaning”, but overall I think Paris has done a pretty good job. They have put effort into the sustainability and reducing the carbon impact such as having vegetarian options at the venues rather than everything being meat focused and all venues being accessible with public transport (the raising of the metro price is another issue that has been discussed a lot).
For the ~10 days before the opening ceremony, there were additional restrictions put in place. In order to access certain areas mostly around the seine, you needed to have a QR code. I tried to have a QR code for a museum that I wanted to go and see, but I didn’t get it in time so I couldn’t go to the exhibition. A lot of small businesses will have been negatively impacted by the Olympics, I’ve seen a few signs up saying that places were taking their annual leave during this period because they expected that there would be less people. Before the games, there were a lot of discussions around the positive impact on tourism but so far it seems to be the opposite.
This article is going to contain all of my olympic thoughts, so you can skip to the relevant part:
- Olympic flame
- Opening ceremony
- road cycling: time trial
- Urban sports
- Kayaking
- Men’s road race
- Women’s road race
- Women’s table tennis
- Olympic houses
You can read my article on the Paralympics here
Olympic flame (21st July)
I watched the olympic flame pass at the Château de Grosbois. They had a lot of different activities going on throughout the day. The vibe was good, and it really got people into the olympic spirit. It was nice to see that so many people arrived by bike and I know some shuttle buses were put on to reduce the number of people arriving by car.
Opening ceremony (26th July)
This was my first time watching the opening ceremony. I liked it a lot. There were a lot of references to French history and French culture that I’m sure were missed by a lot of people outside of France. I watched the ceremony with some french people and it was really interesting to hear their inputs - there were definitely some things that I missed.
I think having the ceremony outside was cool which came with it’s own challenges like unpredictable weather and additional security. Despite the weather, I think everyone put on a good show.
It was definitely made to be watched on tv. I think if you had seats along the seine, you really only got to see one or maybe two of the main entertainment parts. You’d get to see all the boats pass, but that’s the least interesting part (at least that’s how I feel). I know a thousands of tickets were given away for free but some of them didn’t have a view over the ceremony, you’re really just there for the vibes.
Because I missed some of the references, I posted on a Facebook group the following morning asking for some names and faces that come up a lot in French pop culture. I added the list to my French history page - a way of me narrowing down what to revise for the french nationality interview. I have a list of things to look into which I’ll do over the next few weeks. If anyone knows any must know pop culture references, I would love to know them (you can contact me via instagram)!
I was surprised at the level of representation at the opening ceremony especially from the queer community. This was broadcast to millions of people around the world. And the ending with CĂ©line Dion on the Eiffel Tower was incredible. Her voice is just wow.
This was the second most watch tv emission in France of all time, first place is the 2022 France vs Argentina world cup final.
Road cycling: time trial (27th July)
The time trial route is a 32.4km course starting at Invalides which goes through Bois de Vincennes and back, before crossing the finish line on Pont Alexandre III. There were 35 women and 35 men with the women going first - it’s nice to see that the split between men and woman globally across the games is equal. The cyclists left at intervals of 90 seconds.
The weather wasn’t ideal for this race, it was raining so the roads were slippery, a few of the cyclists unfortunately fell. A few cyclists also had mechanical issues, so has to swap bikes.
The route had many free places to watch from, with only the start and end being ticketed. I watched from in front of the Decathlon on Bd Saint-Germain with my partner. The view was pretty good, and we could see the cyclists pass in both directions. Seeing the speeds that they go at is insane, they’re so good at what they do which makes it look easy - which it definitely isn’t. The speeds they cycle at on the flat is faster than I cycle going down a hill!
Maybe a controversial option, but I think umbrellas should be banned from all events - people are so not careful with them as they move to take photos which runs the risk of poking people in the face, and they also obstruct the view. Surely it’s more annoying to hold an umbrella than it is to wear a jacket or poncho?
I watched all of the women’s event, and most of the men’s event - I had to leave early because I had plans with a friend for her birthday.
Very grateful that I was able to see this event for free - I’m sure it would have been too much work to restrict access and add security for a completely ticketed event. The atmosphere was good despite the weather
Urban sports (28th July)
individual ticket price: 24€
With my partner, we had tickets to see the urban park venues - we bought this in the first round of tickets were you had to buy six tickets, these were the cheapest and we thought it would be cool to see. This wasn’t a ticket to see a specific event, but it allowed access to the venues that were not in use along with the athletes who were practising.
The queue to get in was badly managed (which isn’t so much of a surprise). They had two queues for the initial bag check, and then everyone joined one queue for ticket checks and a second security check. The first queue was ok, but the second queue has no sense. There were too many people with no clear indication on where to go, people were trying to jump the queue, and some where accidentally cutting in because there was no clear way to go.
I think people would have been in a better mood if they had some music playing, to make it feel as if we weren’t just waiting. They should have had two different queues, one with the ticketed event which was women’s skateboarding, and one with the urban park tickets. There were definitely people who missed the start of the skateboarding event because they were in the queue which is too bad. In total, we queued for a bit over an hour.
Once we were in, it didn’t feel crowded at all and there was quite a lot of things to do. I like that they had places to fill up water bottles especially considering how hot it was. Sometimes events are complicated with bringing in bottles, but they seemed ok with it.
We started by watching the first round of skateboarding from the side. The view wasn’t great but we could still see parts of the track. There were a lot of Brazilian people there who were super hyped up for the event which was cool. We then took shade to have lunch - we had bought lunch before going into the venue.
We were able to see some people practising on the BMX track and practising the 3x3 basketball. We then went and sat in the shade in the 3x3 basketball venue. It was cool being able to walk around the stadiums. It’s also wild to think that they’re essentially made up of scaffolding. While there we watched the Chinese team practising.
Parts of Jardin des Tuileries were accessible. They had some food and drink stalls there - there’s no alcohol sold in any of the olympic venues - I actually think this is a good thing., They also had some games (mostly aimed at kids) that you can play - they had a place where kids were learning to play basketball and how to skateboard which was cool. You could see the Olympic Flame, but couldn’t get close from the urban sports venue.
We then watched the finals of the skateboarding. We watched from the other skateboarding venue because they were showing it on a big screen there. There were no seats in the shade and I was very hot (and tired) so I went home early. I’m still happy I was able to see some of the event. The skateboarders were so good (and so young!), that they made it look easy (which it definitely isn’t)
My advice for the urban sports venue is:
- arrive 1h30 at least in advance if you have a ticketed event or want to see something specific. I imagine all the queues going forward will be better managed, I went on the first day where it seemed like they didn’t expect so many people to show up in the morning
- bring a bottle, you’re able to fill it up inside the venue. Official rules says the bottle needs to be 75cl or less, but I was able to take in an empty litre bottle (maybe the security who checked my bag was just kind or didn’t realise the size but I definitely saw other people with big bottles)
- check the official bag guidelines, I saw someone who had two flags on the plastic poles but was not allowed to take the poles in
- wear sun cream, there’s not much protection from the sun
- wear a hat (I wish I had a hat with me - it was so hot)
Men’s semi final & final kayaking (1st August)
individual ticket price: 115€ (category C)
I was really looking forward to this event, and it didn’t disappoint! The weather was good, a little hot but not too hot and this time I remembered to bring a hat. The event took place at a lake in Vaires-sur-Marne, a town east of Paris.
With my partner, we opted to cycle. The morning of the event, we had a lot of discussions on how to get there, with the RER or by bike. There was a really intense storm in the morning, which impacted some train lines due to trees being on the track. It was forecast to rain again in the late afternoon / early evening but we still opted to cycle.
Getting there by bike was easy, and it was well signed. I was impressed with the bike parking, I just expected there to a place to leave out bikes close to the entrance. But it was more than that - there were people there checking in bikes: they asked for a phone number and then took a photo of out bikes. At the end, they checked out the bikes. I often don’t feel good about leaving my bike places, but here it really felt secure so I didn’t need to worry. This was my first semi long cycle on my new bike and everything was super smooth.
When we arrived, there were a lot of people arriving by the shuttle bus. The shuttle buses were scheduled to leave the RER station every 5 minutes to easily allow people to arrive. I love that public transport has been a key part of the Paris 2024 olympics. There was a small walk from the shuttle buses and bike parking to get to the ticket check and security. Along this walk, there were volunteers to ask questions to, and there was even one guy with a spray water bottle spraying people in the face (it was very refreshing after the cycle there).
The security line was way smoother than the Urban Sports venue, there was essentially no queue when we arrived (2ish hours before the event started). Once in, we found a table in the shade to eat our lunch from, then got a drink - the tourtel twist citron (an alcohol free beer) was refreshing. They had an area were they were spraying water (mist form) to cool down in, and a place to fill up bottles. The place to fill up bottles was muddy, but it was still ok to get to. After our beers, we headed up to our seats.
I actually think all of the seats had a good view, they were steep enough so that you could see over everyone. Some seats would have been closer to the action, but I felt like I could see just fine. We had binoculars with us, but I didn’t use them because they were moving too fast and I could follow better without them.
For the semi finals, there were 20 people competing with 12 getting through to the finals. Parts were so so intense! The 50 second time penalties - heartbreaking! I enjoyed the commentators throughout, and liked the mix of English and French - it’s not easy to give live commentary in two languages when things are so fast paced.
There was an hour between the semi finals and the finals, during this time there were some classic songs (with lyrics!) to keep the vibe up. They also took the camera to the crowd and were chatting to the people in the audience. There were quite a few people who left after the semi finals, my guess is to either beat the queues when it comes to leaving or because the person they were supporting did not qualify.
The finals were also intense! The top six people had less than two seconds of a difference between them. Two seconds! Between the top three athletes, there was just over half a second between them! It’s so impressive to see the skills involved, water sports always have an element unpredictability.
It was a lot of fun to watch, and it makes me want to try kayaking. I know that I wouldn’t be good at it, but it looks fun (and like an intense workout). Maybe I can get some friends to join me for an afternoon out once the Olympics are over.
The only slight disappointment in the day is how (some) French supporters are only there to support France. If there’s another athlete who is close to beating the French athlete, they are happy when they make a mistake. I can understand being disappointed, but come on, don’t celebrate when they make a mistake. This is an international event, we’re getting to watch high level athletes compete and there’s only seconds difference between positions - they all deserve to be cheered on and encouraged. I want to see positive vibes towards all athletes!
Men’s road race (3rd August)
Another cycling event through Paris with free areas to watch from! I watched with my partner from just in front of the Sacré-Cœur. Getting there was a little complicated because we both came from different directions and some roads were closed (which makes sense considering the route needed to be protected in the centre of Paris.
There was a small kid in front of us with his parents, and I enjoyed watching him negotiate how many sweets to get. He was having a hard time in the sun and with all of the waiting - they had been there for a few hours.
I didn’t have a great view, but I could still see all the athletes pass. they went so so fast, I could hardly keep up. In total they passed us three times.
Women’s road race (4th August)
We started the day going to the Olympic house area at Villette, but after visiting a few houses we made our way to Montmartre to see the race. I prefer watching the event live vs watching TV because I loveeee the atmosphere. The Olympic houses we went to didn’t have a great vibe for watching sports in (more on that in the Olympic house section).
For the women’s final, we watched from the feed zone, at the bottom of Rue Lepic, just as they started one of the climbs in Montmartre. It was so impressive to see them pick up bottles of water from their team and we even got a bottle to take back with us - after the third passage, the teams were giving away the bottles that were not taken by the athletes.
The final was so so tight!
Women’s table tennis semi finals (9th August)
individual ticket price: 50€ (category D)
We watched the semi finals between Germany and Japan and it was a lot of fun. I know the basic rules of table tennis, but I wasn’t entirely sure of the point system (the amount of points in a game, how many games you need to win, how many matches there are etc). I probably should have looked this up in advance, but it was easy to follow without knowing the exact rules.
We took the metro 8 to get there, and it was quite a long walk to get there from the metro station. There were events that had just finished so lots of people were leaving, and a few events that were starting at the same time. Despite that, I thought the flow of people was managed well. It also helps that there are a few different public transport routes and that the venue is used to dealing with large amount of people.
The first match was doubles, and then the following three matches were singles. The speed at which the athletes move is so impressive.
We were quite far back but could still see ok. I think if you had seats on the furthest row your view might have been obstructed by the flags hanging around the venue.
Olympic houses (4th August, 8th August)
I’ve been to a few of the different olympic houses. I really wanted to go to the French one, but on the day we went to Villette, we didn’t want to queue. It looked like there were two different queues, one for buying tickets and one for the security to get it. I am sure that the French Olympic house would have had a great vibe - especially considering how well France were doing in the games.
Some other Olympic houses looked good, but I didn’t want to pay to get in, especially if there wasn’t much to do inside. I went during the day, and it seems that most of the fun events were in the evening.
With my partner, we had a drink at the Slovenia Olympic house, there wasn’t many people there. Maybe because it was quite early in the day, maybe because it was so hot and there were not many seats in the shade by the screen or maybe just because there were no sports on that Slovenia were expecting to perform well in. I was hoping they would have radlers to drink because when in Slovenia in 2022 I drank a lot of them, but they didn’t so I had a glass of wine instead.
After that, we went to the South African Olympic house (this was my favourite house that I visited). Inside, they had some beautiful clothing and accessories on display. They had a garden area at the back, where they were teaching people how to play netball. I haven’t played netball since I was at secondary school but I’m pretty sure I still know all the rules (I was never great at netball).
And the final Olympic house I went to was the New Zealand house on the Champs-Élysées. A childhood friend was visiting, so we stopped by after visiting the Arc de Triomphe. There wasn’t much going on inside, but again that’s probably related to the time we went to visit at.
I’m so pleased that we decided to stay in Paris for the Olympics (and Paralympics!). It’s been so much fun to see the different events. Before the Olympics, everyone was saying how busy Paris is going to be, how the transport is going to suck but actually the opposite is true. Paris has been so quite, and the transport to get around the city and to Olympic venues has been great. I haven’t experienced any issues of the transport being overcrowded or unusable. However, because it has been so quite, local business have been negatively impacted by this - hopefully the peak season lasts a longer this year than other years.
I thought I would have followed more of the games than I did. I didn’t watch anything on TV, if there was something on in a bar that I was at, I would watch but I didn’t go out of my way to watch something. Ì’ve been busy and the Olympic games wasn’t my priority. I am happy that I got to see as much as I did.
And now I’m hyped for the Paralympics!
published date: 30th July 2024
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