The competitions of the 2024 Olympics will be held in the most beautiful and symbolic places in Paris

AnOlympics under the banner of combining sports and art is the one that will take place starting next July 27. A swim passing under the Alexandre III bridge, a beach volleyball match under the Eiffel Tower, two shots of foil under the Grand Palais, two archery shots in theEsplanade des Invalides, or a ride in the park of the Palace of Versailles. Next summer this will be what spectators of the Paris 2024 Olympics will be able to admire: preparations are in full swing to make it a major sporting event but also a way to makeits artistic and architectural beauty even more known. In fact, the competitions of the various disciplines will not be relegated to a peripheral site built from scratch but to the most iconic areas of the city to serve as a backdrop for the competitions, thus giving athletes and sportsmen unrepeatable photo opportunities.

Renderings provided by the Olympic Committee give an idea of what we will see in world-view. Let’s start with two symbols of Paris and France: under the Eiffel Tower, a sand court will be built for beach volleyball competitions, while in the large park in front of the Palace of Versailles, a large open arena will be set up for equestrian (dressage, jumping, cross-country running) and modern pentathlon. The large grandstands that are shaping the arena in front of the Sun King’s residence, as shown in videos released by the IOC, are held up by thousands of innocent pipes on the Etoile Royale esplanade west of the Grand Canal in the heart of the Palace gardens. Tiers that will accommodate about 16,000 spectators. Temporary structures that will be dismantled at the end of the Olympic Games

Certainly horses and knights will be more ’noble’ than boys in bathing suits playing ball on the reported sand, but certainly in such a lavish setting it would be curious to know what the Italian superintendencies would think of such a major intervention in what was desired by Louis XIV as a symbol of the power he wielded at the time.

Widening our gaze to other venues near Parisian art venues we see fencing and Taekwondo will have a home at the Grand Palais on the Champs-Élysées, the long tree-lined avenue commissioned in the 17th century by the world-famous Marie de’ Medici. The Grand Palais, with its all-glass roof and famous nave, was built for the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1900 using the most advanced construction techniques of the time. Suffice it to say that more than 6,000 tons of steel were needed to build the nave. The Grand Palais hosts annual exhibitions by international artists and is visited by 2 million people each year during the various cultural events scheduled. For the Olympics it will be set up with a seating capacity of 8,000 people.

The Champ-de-Mars area will stage judo, wrestling, and Wheelchair Rugby within a temporary structure of 10,000 square meters. The Champ-de-Mars Arena hosts various events from the worlds of art, fashion, and sports, and will also be used for the Olympics this summer. Designed by architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, the wooden structure of the Arena, with its harmonious curves and aesthetics reflecting the Grand Palais, was set up on the Champ-de-Mars in early 2021. In 2024, work on the Grand Palais will be completed, but the Champ-de-Mars Arena will be kept in place for a few more months to accommodate spectators of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Then it will be dismantled. Place de La Concorde, the princely theater of the French Revolution, will look to modernity by hosting the disciplines making their Olympic debut: freestyle BMX, skateboarding, break dancing and 3X3 basketball.

The Pont Alexandre III, surrounded by countless monuments but itself a monument, inaugurated for the 1900 World’s Fair, will be the finish line for individual cycling time trials and will be the setting for marathon swimming, triathlon and para triathlon. The bridge is 45 meters wide, 107 meters long, bordered by four imposing columns supporting gilded bronze statues.

The 17th-century Esplanade des Invalides building will be the backdrop for archery tournaments and the marathon finish. Built in 1687 (under Louis XIV) as a military hospital and rest home for war veterans the Hôtel des Invalides includes museums and monuments of French military history as well as the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte. In the heart of Paris, the Esplanade des Invalides has become a favorite leisure destination where Parisians and tourists alike can enjoy sports, music and walking. A total of 15 Olympic and 11 Paralympic sites sleep where 21 Olympic sports (out of 32) and 14 Paralympic sports (out of 22) will be practiced located within 10 km of the Village.

The competitions of the 2024 Olympics will be held in the most beautiful and symbolic places in Paris

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