The highly anticipated 2024 Summer Olympic Games are scheduled to take place in Paris, France from July 26 to Aug. 11. The city of love is preparing to host the events at landmark locations, including Beach Volleyball held at the Eiffel Tower and a marathon started at the famous Hotel de Ville. With a 300,000-visitor capacity, Paris is ready to show the world what they have to offer. Paris last hosted the Olympics a century ago, in 1924. The first time the city hosted the events, they spanned over three months with 126 medals awarded. In contrast, this year’s games will run for only about two weeks, with double the number of awards given out. There will be triple the amount of athletes attending in 2024, now exceeding 10,000. Despite this expansion, Paris is more than ready to accept the challenge. While fan-favorite sports like gymnastics, track and field and swimming are set to return, some changes are also in store. Break-dancing is the newest sport added to the Olympic lineup this year, and more recent additions of skateboarding, sports climbing and surfing will be on center stage at the competition.
The US Men’s Basketball Team is stacked with players from the NBA, including Bam Adebayo from the Miami Heat, Jason Tatum from the Boston Celtics, Steph Curry from the Golden State Warriors and Lebron James from the Los Angeles Lakers. Some other American athletes to pay attention to are swimmer Katie Grimes, track and field star Anthu Mu and gymnast Konnor McClain. The 2023 US Open Winner Coco Guaff will be competing on the courts at Roland Garros. Simone Biles and Suni Lee are back to compete on the gymnastics floor as they soar for another gold medal. Alex Morgan is competing on the US Women’s Soccer team and Masters Winner, Scottie Scheffler, is competing on the USA golf team.
The United States and China are projected to be the two best-competing teams. They were the top winning teams at the last Summer Olympics, which was held in Tokyo in 2020. France is also expected to come out strong, especially with a “home field” advantage. They are projected to triple their gold-medal count from four years ago.
During the Olympic Ceremony, the massive Olympic rings will be displayed on the Eiffel Tower overlooking the Seine. The Seine will have boats that will carry athletes toward the glimmering Tower. Neighboring cities of Versailles, Le Bourget, Nanterre and Saint-Denis will host Olympic events as well to accommodate the massive size. All athletes will be based in the newly constructed Paris Olympic Village. After the games are completed, the village will be converted to residential living.
The city of Paris continues to prepare for the games to celebrate these skilled athletes. Dreams will come true, medals will be awarded and games will be played under the hot summer heat. Bonne chance a tous les participants (Good luck to all participants)!
