Jose Sanchez
Research expert covering society, economy, & politics for Latin America
Paris 2024 Olympic Games - statistics & facts
As far as major sporting events go, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games scored top marks when it came to iconic moments. In the pool, Leon Marchand secured four gold medals, all to the thundering soundtrack of a home crowd chanting his name during every stroke. Meanwhile, Simone Biles’ return to the competition, following her high-profile withdrawal from Tokyo 2020, lived up to expectations. The gymnast rose to joint-fourth in the list of athletes with the most Olympic golds, with a haul of three gold medals and one silver medal; for the latter, Biles and teammate Jordan Chiles touchingly bowed down to champion Rebeca Andrade.
The city of Paris itself also provided a healthy dose of iconography, with the Eiffel Tower Stadium and Gardens of the Palace of Versailles among the Olympic venues that added to the magnitude of the competition. Remarkably, despite providing a bundle of memorable moments, there were fewer world records broken at Paris 2024 than in any of the past five competitions.
The city of Paris itself also provided a healthy dose of iconography, with the Eiffel Tower Stadium and Gardens of the Palace of Versailles among the Olympic venues that added to the magnitude of the competition. Remarkably, despite providing a bundle of memorable moments, there were fewer world records broken at Paris 2024 than in any of the past five competitions.
What new additions were made to the Summer Olympics at Paris 2024?
Continuing the trend set at Tokyo 2020, when new sports such as climbing, skateboarding, and surfing made their Olympic debuts, Paris 2024 saw breaking added to the list of sports at Paris 2024. In total, there were 32 sports featured at Paris 2024. There was a mixed reaction to the inclusion of breaking at Paris 2024, and some criticism concerning the differing standards of performance between competitors; duly, breaking will not feature at LA 2028. However, the move showed a willingness from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to experiment with modern and dynamic disciplines, which might attract a more varied audience. The inclusion of an equal share of male and female athletes at Paris 2024 – a first for the competition – reinforced this. The next Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028 will carry on this work, with sports such as baseball and cricket set to feature, with the latter in particular poised to expand the competition’s viewership in India.What will the legacy of Paris 2024 be?
Two main policies defined the planning of Paris 2024: cost-effectiveness and sustainability. Ahead of the competition, the cost of Paris 2024 was estimated to reach 9.1 billion U.S. dollars, which would be around three times less than the Tokyo 2021 Games and would also be the smallest budget for an Olympics since Sydney 2000. Regarding sustainability, the projected carbon emissions for the 2024 Olympics totaled 1.75 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, less than half of Rio 2016’s carbon footprint. This was partly due to the use of France’s pre-existing sporting infrastructure, as well as several temporary venues, such as the Eiffel Tower Stadium. However, there was also a desire for the 2024 Games to leave a lasting legacy in Saint-Denis, the area of Paris where the Olympic and Paralympic Village has been built, and where a number of events were held. One key part of this policy has been the Olympic Village itself, which will be turned into 2,800 permanent apartments. Regarding sporting legacy, there is the hope that Paris 2024 will inspire future generations of athletes to try out new sports and perhaps grace the Olympic stage as early as 2028.
