With 32 sports, 329 events and 10,500 athletes, the 2024 Summer Olympics will be held in Paris, France. Different from most years, these Olympics are going to be new, exciting and innovative. Starting on July 26, the opening ceremony will take place outside of a stadium for the first time in Olympic history.
Unlike the usual walking during the athlete parade, the parade of athletes will float through the city on boats from their country on the Seine River. The Seine is a 777 kilometer river that flows through Northern France and winds its way through the middle of Paris. Because the Seine River is so public, most of the citizens spectating will be able to watch the boats, athletes, and opening ceremony, cost free. The boat parade will end at the Trocadéro, a large area across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. Here they will finish up the opening ceremony in front of one of Paris’ most famous monuments.
One of the new goals for these Olympics is to be more climate friendly. During the 2024 Olympic Games, Paris has pledged to cut their carbon footprint from the other previous games in half. They are aiming to be the most sustainable Games by only emitting around 1.75 million tonnes of carbon dioxide compared to the last Summer Olympics, which emitted around 3.5 million tonnes.
Jacob Reznick, a basketball player and junior at Franklin, normally tunes in to watch the Summer Olympics. “I definitely like and watch the Summer Olympics more than the winter ones,” he says. “The Summer Olympics have more sports I like.” Since Reznick loves and plays basketball, he is most excited to watch that portion of the Olympics “I’m most excited to see Anthony Edwards and Kevin Durant both play for the United States this summer, because I like watching them play outside of the Olympics too.”
When asked what he is most excited for, Reznick says, “I heard the swimmers have to swim in the dirty river, and I’m excited to watch them do that.” In these Olympics and Paralympics, the marathon swimming and triathlon swimming sections will take place in the Seine River. The Seine River has been very toxic and dirty for many years. Paris is currently cleaning up the river for the athletes to compete in.
Ashley Rose, a current Advanced Placement Environmental Science teacher, biology teacher, and track coach, prefers the Summer Olympics over the Winter Olympics too. “I really enjoy and am looking forward to watching the women’s soccer and track and field,” she adds. She is also looking forward to seeing the distance events such as the women’s marathon and other women’s distance track events. Rose is looking forward to a number of specific track and field athletes. “I think Sha’Carri Richardson is maybe the one I am really excited for since it’s her first Olympic appearance,” says Rose. Because of a suspension, Sha’Carri Richardson was not able to compete in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, so Paris 2024 will be her first time competing in the Olympic Games. Rose always roots for the women’s soccer players, especially those that play on the Portland Thorns: “I also always look forward to seeing the players that are also on the Thorns play for various national soccer teams.”
Because there are 32 sports in the Paris Olympics, there are many underrated, lesser-known sports. These include archery, table tennis, canoeing, badminton, and trampoline. “I think the most underrated is archery or table tennis,” Rose says. Reznick thinks canoeing is really underrated and “hard too.” Regardless of if you like sports or not, there is something for everyone in the Olympics and so many sports you can choose to watch.
The 2024 Olympic Games will end on Sunday, Aug. 11 with a closing ceremony in the Stade de France, France’s national stadium. Celebrity hosts like Jimmy Fallon and Mike Tirico will be part of the Olympic broadcasting during these Paris 2024 Olympics, along with many other commentators and hosts broadcasting the closing ceremony. The Paris 2024 Olympics will be exciting, innovative, and definitely worth watching, so if you’re bored one hot summer day I suggest watching it.
