From a unique, ground-breaking, opening ceremony to beach volleyball under the Eiffel Tower, not to mention surfing in Tahiti, Paris 2024 will be a Games like no other.
With a history dating back to Roman times, the City of Lights is packed with iconic monuments and many of them will feature among the venues for Paris 2024.
So to whet the appetite, let us run through the extraordinary venues which will host the Games:
Aquatics
The five different aquatics disciplines will be spread across three venues. The futuristic Paris La Défense Arena, best known as the home of rugby team Racing 92, will be transformed into a pool complex to host the swimming, as well as the finals of the water polo.
Then, towards Saint Denis and the Stade de France, the newly-built Paris Aquatic Centre will be the place to go for the diving, artistic swimming and water polo preliminaries.
And last, but by no means least, the Pont d’Iéna, which looks up to the Eiffel Tower, will be the best seat in the house to watch the marathon swimming.
Archery
In Paris’s 7th arrondissement, Les Invalides is the military heart of the city, hosting the Musée de l’Armée, as well as the tomb of Napoléon Bonaparte. It is here that the archery will take place, on the Esplanade des Invalides opposite the Hôtel des Invalides.
Athletics
The Stade de France has become one of the most iconic stadia in the world over the 25 years since it was first built for the 1998 Football World Cup. It has hosted World Athletics Championships, Rugby World Cups and will now be the venue for the athletics in Paris.
Meanwhile, the marathon will begin at the Hôtel de Ville, heading east to Versailles before the route takes the runners back to the Invalides.
The race walking will take place at the Pont d’Iéna near the Eiffel Tower.
Badminton
The brand new Porte de la Chapelle Arena, in the north of the city, has been built specifically for the Games and the eco-design venue will play host to the badminton competition.
Basketball
The Olympic basketball competition will feature some of the world’s most famous athletes, with the preliminary competition set to take place outside Paris in Lille’s Pierre Mauroy Stadium, while the finals will then be held at Bercy Arena.
Meanwhile, the exciting 3x3 competition will be held in Place de la Concorde, at the end of the Champs-Élysées, in the shadow of the Obélisk monument.
Boxing
The boxing competition will be split across two venues. The preliminary rounds and the quarter-finals will take place at the Arena Paris Nord, a convention centre near Charles de Gaulle airport. Then, attention will shift to Roland Garros for the finals.
Breaking
The only new sport at Paris 2024, breaking will make its Games debut in an iconic venue as it is held at Place de la Concorde, like the 3x3 basketball.
Canoeing
Both the canoe sprint and canoe slalom will take place some 30km from the city centre at the National Olympic Nautical Stadium in Île de loisirs de Vaires-Torcy, near Charles de Gaulle airport.
Cycling
Four different venues will play host to cycling events at Paris 2024, starting with Place de la Concorde, which will be the place to head for the BMX freestyle.
The road race will start and end at the Trocadéro just across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower, while the time trial will start at Les Invalides, heading east to the Bois de Vincennes before returning to the Pont Alexandre III.
The other three cycling disciplines will be a little out of the city towards Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines. The Vélodrome there has hosted the Track Cycling World Championships on two occasions and will be the venue for the track cycling, while the BMX racing will be next door at the BMX stadium. And Élancourt Hill, which is located very close by, will be the venue for the mountain biking.
Equestrian
The equestrian competition will take place in another iconic venue as the Palais de Versailles provides the backdrop. The former royal residence is approximately 20km west of the city and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world.
Fencing
The Grand Palais, located on the Champs-Élysées, was built for the 1900 Paris Universal Exhibition. It is in the process of being renovated and will host the fencing competition, having previously hosted the World Fencing Championships in 2010.
Field hockey
History will be made at the Yves du Manoir Stadium in Colombes, which will be the only venue hosting an Olympic event for the second time. It was here, in 1924, that the opening ceremony and athletics were held, while a century on, it will be field hockey that heads to the stadium to the north of the city.
Football
The football competition at Paris 2024 will be hosted across France with the final set to take place at the Parc des Princes, home of Paris Saint-Germain. Other games will be played in Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Saint-Étienne, Nantes and Nice.
Golf
Six years on from hosting the Ryder Cup, the first time the competition had ever taken place in France, Le Golf National will be the venue for the golf in Paris. It is located in Guyancourt, close to Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
Gymnastics
Gymnastics in Paris will take place in two venues, with the Porte de la Chapelle Arena used for the rhythmic gymnastics.
The artistic gymnastics and trampoline events will be held in the Bercy Arena.
Handball
The handball competitions at Paris 2024 will start at one of the most versatile venues, with the preliminary matches taking place at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. Then, the finals will head east to Lille and the Pierre Mauroy Stadium.
Judo
With the Grand Palais undergoing renovations for the Games, the Grand Palais Éphémère was opened in 2021. It has previously hosted the 10th edition of the forum for timber engineers and architects and in Paris it will be the venue for the judo.
Modern pentathlon
Modern pentathlon can trace its history all the way back to Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games. In Paris, the fencing competitions will take place at the Arena Paris Nord, while the remaining disciplines will all be in Versailles.
Rowing
As with the two canoeing disciplines, the rowing at Paris 2024 will take place at the National Olympic Nautical Stadium in Île de loisirs de Vaires-Torcy.
Rugby sevens
As well as the athletics and the closing ceremony, the other sport to be hosted at the Stade de France will be the rugby sevens. A year on from hosting both the opening game and the final of the Rugby World Cup, some of the great and the good of the oval ball game will return to Saint Denis.
Sailing
For the Olympic sailing, attention heads south to Marseille. The city famed for its Vieux Port and for being the setting for The Count of Monte Cristo will see the sailors compete in the Mediterranean.
Shooting
Located a couple of hours outside Paris, the National Shooting Centre in Châteauroux will be the venue for the shooting in 2024.
Skateboarding
It is back to Place de la Concorde for the skateboarding, three years on from Sky Brown becoming Team GB’s youngest-ever Olympic medallist.
Sport climbing
Sport climbers will head to the north-east of Paris to the commune of Le Bourget where five climbing walls will be used, two for warm-ups and three outdoor walls for competition.
Surfing
Unquestionably the most exotic venue of the entire Games will be the surfing, which heads all the way to the Pacific Ocean and the French Polynesian islands of Tahiti. Teahupo’o, where the competition takes place, is a regular stop on the World Surf League Championship Tour.
Table tennis
Table tennis in Paris is another of the sports taking place at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.
Taekwondo
It is back to the Grand Palais for the taekwondo, with the sport taking over the venue later in the Games after it will be dedicated to fencing early on.
Tennis
Another iconic venue for the tennis, which will be played on the red clay courts of Roland Garros. Famed for hosting the French Open each year, the clay court specialists will look to add Olympic medals to Grand Slam glory.
Triathlon
It is back to the centre of town for triathlon, which involves swimming the Seine, followed by bike and running routes that feature the Champs-Élysées before finishing on the Pont Alexandre III.
Volleyball
The volleyball competition will be another at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, while the beach volleyball may be the most striking of all the venues. The Eiffel Tower Stadium is located underneath the world’s most visited monument, providing a breath-taking backdrop to competition.
Weightlifting
The last of the four sports being hosted at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles in the 15th arrondissement is weightlifting.
Wrestling
Last but not least, wrestling will join judo in the Grand Palais Éphémère.
Ceremonies
Paris 2024 is set to rip up the rulebook when it comes to the opening ceremony. Rather than restricting themselves to a stadium, the plan is to take the ceremony to the heart of the city, with the parade of athletes taking place on the River Seine, going past iconic locations such as Notre Dame and the Louvre. Eighty giant screens will be located around the capital to give everyone the chance to enjoy the show, with the final elements of the show taking place at the Trocadéro in front of a mini stadium of 30,000 people. The closing ceremony will take a more traditional format back at the Stade de France.
READ MORE: What will the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony look like?
Sportsbeat 2024