Thomas Bach has collected his accreditation, so it’s nearly time in Paris after a long seven years of build-up – the Olympic action begins next Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremony, with preliminary round football and rugby sevens. Next week is also a busy one in Olympic politics, with an IOC Executive Committee meeting on Saturday, followed by the IOC Session next Tuesday and Wednesday, during which members will ratify a 12-year hosting deal with Saudi Arabia for the new Olympic Esports Games; confirm Salt Lake City as the host of the 2034 Winter Olympics (and potentially the French Alps as host in 2030, if the current political stalemate in France will allow for government guarantees to be signed); and elect new IOC members including former British sports minister Sir Hugh Roberston.
Here’s a handy A-Z of other Paris 2024 business tidbits to keep an eye on over the next few weeks.
A – Airbnb/AB InBev: Just two of the Olympic Worldwide Partners you’ll see activating across Paris and around the world, the latter taking on its first Games as the IOC’s official beer partner. Expect plenty of chatter about which car manufacturer might take Toyota TOP partner slot.
B – Breaking: An emblem of what the IOC is calling a new ‘urban’ focus for the Games, breaking is the only new sport on the programme this time after dry runs at the Youth Olympics. Theatre for the throw downs: Place de la Concorde.
C – Christophe Dubi: The IOC’s Executive Director of the Olympic Games may well be the coolest customer in Paris – and he may need to be as he once again oversees the most complex and multi-faceted event on earth. The devil of the Olympic experience will, as always, be in the detail.
D – Discovery: The IOC’s pan-European broadcaster has comprehensive coverage plans and, in the UK, will lean on its fledgling TNT Sports platform as well as Eurosport. In the free-to-air world, the BBC will have to work creatively to make a single channel and a single stream’s worth of coverage work for viewers at a prime-time Games.
E – Estanguet (Tony): The 46-year-old former canoeing champion has led the Games prep and will oversee delivery as President of the Paris 2024 organising committee, having navigated the myriad political, financial and logistical hurdles along the way.
F – Federations: The traditional international sports federation model is certainly challenged, financially and structurally. Some are doing better than others: the IOC has taken over the running of the boxing tournament in Paris, after suspending the International Boxing Association.
G – Gaulle (Charles de): Paris’ main airport has undergone a €50 million makeover for the Games but will be under strain as all host city transport hubs always are. Projections suggest some 300,000 passengers per day will pass through at Games-time (the usual summer average is around 200,000). Handily, a pre-Games strike by airport staff has this week been called off.
H – Hidalgo (Anne): The Mayor of Paris has been a passionate advocate of the Games and will take her share of the credit if things go well (her current term of office is up in 2026). She can point to the fact these Games will be the cheapest for 30 years (although still over-budget at US$12.7 billion).
I – Invalides (Esplanade des): One of seven temporary venues set up in the heart of Paris during the Games. Also look out for the first Olympic mass participation marathon, following the medal race, with 20,024 slots allocated to the public.
J – Je ne sais quoi: The IOC and the Olympic Games brand could certainly do with a little sprinkle of Parisian magic to invigorate and energise the brand.
K – ($50)k: World Athletics’ decision to pay each gold medal winner $50k has lit the fuse on a wider debate over Olympic athlete remuneration; watch for it to become a larger issue in Paris and over the next four years as the Games head to LA.
L – LVMH: Adding a splash of luxury across the Games, thanks to a deal struck with the Paris 2024 local organising committee, reportedly worth $160 million. Medals, team uniforms and the hospitality offerings will all get the LVMH treatment.
M – Macron (Emmanuel): Hosting the Games is the ultimate soft power play and a key strand of the Macron presidential legacy, not least as political turmoil – his entire government resigned this week – continues following his decision to call a snap election in June. He will be front and centre.
N – NBC: The ratings and how the coverage provided by the IOC’s biggest media partner lands is always a factor in determining whether a Games can be deemed successful. This time with added Snoop Dogg, who’ll be providing colour commentary from Paris.
O – On Location: The first rollout of the IOC’s new Olympic hospitality model, following the deal with Endeavor-owned On Location signed in 2021. Around 4,500 On Location staff are expected on the ground, with a host of premium offerings and locations across the city. These will be the hospitality Games.
P – Phryge: The Paris 2024 mascot is based on a hat and represents freedom. Will it be the must-have merch item at these Olympics, or will it be surprisingly usurped by something else entirely (see Vancouver’s mitten’s from the 2010 Winter Games)?
Q – Queues: Some 8.6 million tickets have already been sold (plus one million for the Paralympics, which follow in August) with organisers targeting over 10 million (and 3.4 million for the Paralympics). The crowds return after Tokyo’s enforced empty seats.
R – Re-election: An intriguing political storyline to follow at the IOC Session next week is whether there is appetite to allow Thomas Bach to remain as President beyond 2025, when his current – and final – term ends. In October, some IOC members put the case for a change to the Olympic charter allowing Bach to serve a further term, but the German has so far remained tight-lipped on the matter.
S – Seine: Friday week sees the most ambitious and logistically complicated opening ceremony in Olympic history, with a parade of athletes on boats down the river Seine. Security will be extreme (airspace across Northern France will be shut down).
T – Tahiti: Maybe the most remarkable, radical (and ridiculous?) Olympic venue of them all; 15,705km from Paris, where the surfing medals will be won.
U – User-generated content/memes/clips/creators/athlete access: A Games of democratised content (within ever so slightly relaxed but still extremely strict IOC guidelines).
V – Versailles: Hosting the equestrian events; just one of many picture postcard venues selected by organisers.
W – Wasserman (Casey): Along with a sizeable LA28 delegation and new CEO Reynold Hoover, Wasserman, Chair of the local organising team, will be forensically monitoring everything that happens over the next three weeks. They’re up next.
X – XL: The sheer vastness of an Olympics should never be taken for granted – over 14,500 athletes and officials; a volunteer force of 45,000; over 11,000 hours of broadcast production; and 33 concurrent world championships.
Y – Yiannis (Exarchos): The ebullient head of Olympic Broadcasting Services is promising another record- and ground-breaking broadcast product, with new innovations set to include enhanced graphics and more live, predictive athlete performance data.
Z – Zelenskiy (Volodymyr): The Games are always an important venue for international diplomacy, but among the many world leaders and dignitaries in attendance, a visit from Ukraine’s President would certainly stand out. The Olympic Games: never political, always political, inherently political.
Bon chance, Paris.
