What You Need to Know About the 2024 Paris Olympics: Dates, Tickets, and Events

The 2024 Olympic Games are just days away.

Across many sports, 10,000 top athletes will compete for coveted medals and the right to call themselves Olympic champions.

Find out everything you need to know about dates, tickets, schedules, and more.

Where are the 2024 Olympic Games?

This year, the Olympics are being held in France, with most of the competition taking place in Paris and the surrounding area.

Temporary venues have been set up around the city, including a stadium next to the Eiffel Tower and an open-air arena at Place de la Concorde. (For history buffs, this is where Marie Antoinette was executed.)

The former will host beach volleyball, while the latter will host urban sports like 3×3 basketball, breakdancing, skateboarding and freestyle BMX.

Rugby, athletics and the closing ceremony will be held at the Stade de France just north of Paris, while the equestrian and modern pentathlon events will take place at the glittering Palace of Versailles, about 21 miles outside Paris.

Not all events are held in or near the City of Light: basketball and handball are held in Villeneuve d’Ascq in the north of France, while football matches are held in stadiums across the country, including in Bordeaux, Lyon, Nantes and Nice.

The sailing races are held in Marseille on the Mediterranean coast, and the surfing competitions are held in Teaupoo on the southwest coast of Tahiti (part of French Polynesia).

How many times has Paris hosted the Summer Olympic Games?

This is the third time Paris has hosted the Summer Olympic Games. Matches were played here in 1900 and 1924.

When are the Olympic Games in Paris?

The Olympics run from 27 July to 12 August New Zealand time, with the Opening Ceremony starting at 5:30am on 27 July.

However, some competitions with multiple heats will start before the Opening Ceremony. Football and Rugby Sevens will start on 25 July NZT, and Archery and Handball on 26 July.

How much do tickets cost for the Paris Olympics?

At the time of writing, tickets for many competitions have already sold out, but there are still many tickets available for some sports, such as football and rugby sevens.

The cheapest tickets available are for football matches, costing €24 (NZ$43).

Tickets for the pool rounds of rugby sevens are 24 euros (NZ$43), handball matches start at 140 euros (NZ$253), rowing matches from 65 euros (NZ$117) and canoe slalom matches are 24 euros ( NZ$43).

As competition increases, ticket prices will rise. For example, tickets to the men’s swimming semi-finals were priced at 690 euros (NZ$1,250).

The most expensive hospitality packages, which include lounge access, food, drinks and entertainment and are available for select sports, cost up to 1,995 euros (NZ$3,613).

Where can you buy tickets for the Paris Olympics?

Tickets can be purchased on the official website of the 2024 Olympics.

Be careful not to buy your tickets only there, as you may be denied entry if you buy your tickets on other websites.

What sports will be competed in the 2024 Olympics?

The sports being played at this year`s Olympics are: archery, gymnastics (both artistic and rhythmic), artistic swimming, athletics, badminton, basketball (both 5×5 and 3×3), beach volleyball, boxing, breaking, canoeing (slalom and sprint), cycling (BMX freestyle, BMX racing, mountain biking, road cycling and track cycling), diving, equestrian, fencing, football, golf, handball, hockey, judo, marathon swimming, modern pentathlon, rowing, rugby sevens, sailing, shooting, skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, trampoline, triathlon, volleyball, water polo, weightlifting and wrestling.

What new sports will be added to the 2024 Olympics?

Breaking is the only sport making its debut at this year’s Summer Olympics. It was previously featured at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.

16 B-Boys and 16 B-Girls will compete in an individual competition. The judges will award each breaker points for creativity, individuality, technique, diversity, style and musicality. The breaker with the most points will be declared the winner.

Surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing have all been added to the Paris Olympics programme after making successful debuts at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics.

When is the Opening Ceremony and what will it be like?

The Opening Ceremony will take place in central Paris on the evening of 26 July. If you’re watching from New Zealand, it will air from 5.30am to 9.15am on 27 July.

For the first time in the history of the modern Summer Olympics, the Opening Ceremony will take place outdoors. 10,000 athletes will travel by boat down the Seine and finish the event in the gardens of the Trocadero, where the final proceedings will take place.

If you’re traveling to France and want to witness the Opening Ceremony, you’re in luck: most spectators won’t have to pay an admission fee, and no tickets are needed to get to the upper quays, which will be on the river. However, with around 300,000 spectators expected, you’ll need to arrive in time to secure a spot.

Those who want to watch the ceremony from the lower quays will need to buy tickets, which at the time of writing are available on the official website for between 900 and 2700 euros (NZ$1627-4890).