2024 Paris Games Topical Guide

Facts and figures

France is hosting the Olympics for the sixth time. The Winter Games were held in Chamonix in 1924, Grenoble in 1968 and Albertville in 1992. The Summer Games were held in Paris in 1900 and 1924.

Dates of the Paris Olympics: July 26-Aug. 11, 2024 (some men's soccer and rugby sevens on July 24, and archery, women's soccer, women's handball and rugby sevens on July 25 ahead of the opening ceremony.)

Sports: There are 32 sports and 45 disciplines under the official program. The IOC defines sports by the international federations that govern them: Swimming, diving, artistic swimming (formerly synchronized), open water swimming and water polo are considered disciplines that all fall under the sport of swimming because they are governed by FINA. Note the distinctions if quantifying the number of Olympic sports in a story, but don't get tripped up by official definitions in other uses: It's OK to describe water polo and diving as different sports.

Sports venues: There are 35 venues divided into three general areas: Paris (13), Ile-de-France (12) and rest of France (10). Surfing is being held in the village of Teahupo'o in Tahiti in French Polynesia, approximately 15,700 km (9,750 miles) from Paris.

Medal events: 329 medal events.

One new sport: Breaking is making its Olympic debut. There are several new events in traditional sports, including kayak cross and kiteboarding.

Athletes: Around 10,500, plus coaches and team officials.

Countries: Athletes from 206 national Olympic committees are expected, as well as a team of refugee athletes competing under the Olympic flag.

Russia: Russia and Belarus are banned from team sports at the Paris Olympics because of the war on Ukraine. Individual athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports have been allowed to compete as neutrals in qualifying events in most other sports, then apply for entry to the Olympics. The two-stage vetting process for neutral status goes through sports governing bodies, and then an IOC panel before appeals are possible at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Further conditions imposed on the athletes include competing as Individual Neutral Athletes, with the acronym in French AIN, without the Russian flag — and in uniforms that are not in its colors of red, white and blue. The Russian anthem is also barred, replaced with music commissioned by the IOC, and medals they win should not be included in any table.

Cost: At around 9 billion euros ($9.7 billion), Paris' expenses so far are less than for the last three Summer Games in Tokyo, Rio and London. Including policing and transport costs, the portion of the bill for French taxpayers is likely to be around 3 billion euros ($3.25 billion), France's body for auditing public funds said in a recent study. France's state auditors say they haven't yet been able to precisely calculate exactly how many billions of those costs are borne by taxpayers, but have committed to an Oct. 1, 2025, deadline to report to parliament.

Medals: Every medal handed out at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics will contain an embedded chunk of iron from the Eiffel Tower. Paris jewelry house Chaumet designed the medals. Six small clasps that hold the iron pieces in the medals are a wink at the 2.5 million rivets that bind the Eiffel Tower together. The Paris Mint is manufacturing 5,084 medals — about 2,600 for the Olympics and 2,400 for the Paralympics. Some will be stored in case medals are reassigned after the Games, which can happen when medal winners are subsequently stripped of the prizes for doping. Some go to museums. Any other spares could be destroyed. There is not necessarily a single gold, silver and bronze medal winner in each of the 329 events. Some competitions – in boxing, judo, taekwondo and wrestling – award two bronze medals. And then there are the occasional event ties, where two or more of one medal may be awarded.

Mascots: The Phrygian cap is the mascot for the Olympics and Paralympics. The soft red cap is also known as a liberty cap. The Olympic cap is triangular in shape, and comes complete with friendly smile, blue eyes, tricolor ribbon and big colored sneakers. The Paralympic version features a prosthetic leg that goes to the knee — the first time such a mascot sports a visible impairment, according to organizers.

Medals tables: In the United States, national standings are compiled by the total number of medals per team: gold, silver and bronze. In the rest of the world, national standings are based on the number of gold medals per team.

Olympic sports on the program: archery, athletics (track and field), badminton, basketball (regular team and 3-on-3), boxing, breaking, canoe/kayak (slalom and sprint), cycling (track, road, mountain bike, BMX racing, BMX freestyle), equestrian (dressage, eventing and jumping), fencing, football (soccer), golf, gymnastics (artistic, rhythmic and trampoline), handball, field hockey, judo, modern pentathlon, rowing, rugby sevens, sailing, shooting, skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing, swimming (swimming, diving – springboard and platform, water polo, artistic swimming, marathon swimming), table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, volleyball (indoor and beach), weightlifting, wrestling (freestyle and Greco-Roman).

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Datelines

These venues use a Paris dateline:
Bercy Arena (artistic gymnastics, basketball, trampoline gymnastics)
Champ-de-Mars Arena (judo, wrestling)
Eiffel Tower Stadium (beach volleyball)
Grand Palais (fencing, taekwondo)
Hotel de Ville (athletics - marathon start)
Invalides (archery, athletics - marathon finish, road cycling - time trial start)
La Concorde Urban Park (3X3 basketball, breaking, BMX freestyle cycling, skateboarding)
Parc des Princes (soccer)
Pont Alexandre III (road cycling - time trial finish, marathon swimming - finish, triathlon)
Porte de La Chapelle Arena (badminton, rhythmic gymnastics)
Stade Roland Garros (boxing, tennis)
South Paris Arena (handball, table tennis, volleyball, weightlifting)
Trocadero (athletics - race walk, road cycling - road race start and finish, opening ceremony)

These venues do NOT use a Paris dateline:
Olympic Aquatics Centre (artistic swimming, diving, water polo) uses SAINT-DENIS, France.
Chateau de Versailles (equestrian, modern pentathlon) uses VERSAILLES, France.
Elancourt Hill (mountain bike cycling) uses ELANCOURT, France.
Le Bourget Sport Climbing Venue (sport climbing) uses LE BOURGET, France.
Le Golf National (golf) uses SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France.
North Paris Arena, (boxing, modern pentathlon) uses VILLEPINTE, France.
Paris La Defense Arena (swimming, water polo) uses NANTERRE, France.
Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines BMX Stadium (BMX racing cycling) uses MONTIGNY-LE-BRETONNEUX, France.
Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome (track cycling) uses MONTIGNY-LE-BRETONNEUX, France.
Stade de France (athletics, rugby sevens, closing ceremony) uses SAINT-DENIS, France.
Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium (canoe sprint, canoe slalom, rowing) uses VAIRES-SUR-MARNE, France.
Yves-du-Manoir Stadium (field hockey) uses COLOMBES, France.
Bordeaux Stadium (soccer) uses BORDEAUX, France.
Chateauroux Shooting Centre (shooting) uses CHATEAUROUX, France.
Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium (soccer) uses SAINT-ETIENNE, France.
La Beaujoire Stadium (soccer) uses NANTES, France.
Lyon Stadium (soccer) uses DECINES, France.
Marseille Marina (sailing) uses MARSEILLE, France.
Marseille Stadium (soccer) uses MARSEILLE, France.
Nice Stadium (soccer) uses NICE, France.
Pierre Mauroy Stadium (basketball, handball) uses VILLENEUVE-D'ASCQ, France.
Surfing uses TEAHUPO'O, Tahiti.

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Games Always capitalize, even when standing alone: The Games open July 26.

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Paris Games, Paris Olympics Capitalized. The year always precedes the host city and Olympics: 2024 Paris Olympics, 2024 Paris Games. Do not use Paris 2024 Olympics or Paris 2024 Games; Paris 2024 is a marketing term commonly used by organizers and others that does not conform with long-standing AP style.

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Names and abbreviations
FINA: The world governing body for swimming. FINA is acceptable on all references.
IOC: International Olympic Committee. Either is OK on first reference, but use full name in the story.
IOC President Thomas Bach. The title is capitalized when used before the name.
International sports federations: All Olympic sports are run by international federations. Don't use the abbreviation IF; use international federation or governing body.
National Olympic committee: In news stories, avoid the abbreviation NOC and use national Olympic committees or national bodies. There are 206 recognized national Olympic committees.
USOPC: U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Abbreviation acceptable on second reference.
the Olympic movement: Comprises the IOC, international federations, national Olympic committees, organizing committees and all other recognized federations and bodies, as well as athletes, judges, coaches and other sports officials.
the Olympic Partners program: The IOC's global sponsorship program. The 15 sponsors are AB InBev, Airbnb, Alibaba Group, Allianz, Atos, Bridgestone, Coca-Cola, Deloitte, Intel, Omega, Panasonic, Procter & Gamble, Samsung, Toyota and Visa. Do not use the IOC's abbreviation, TOP.

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Olympiad Best to avoid as the term can be confusing. It is not a synonym for the Olympics. It is a period of four years beginning on Jan. 1 of the Olympic year. Olympiads are numbered consecutively in Roman numerals from the 1896 Athens Games. These are the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, which began Jan. 1, 2024.

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Olympian Any athlete who has qualified for or been named to a country's Olympic team.

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Olympic Adjective (without s) and always capitalized: Olympic gold medal, Olympic organizers, Olympic host city, Olympic flame, etc.

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Olympic terms
Olympic Village, capitalized, or athletes village, lowercase.
Olympic flame and torch relay.
Olympic opening ceremony (singular) and closing ceremony (singular). Together they are the Olympic ceremonies (plural) held at the Olympic Stadium.

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Olympics or Olympic Games Always capitalized. There are Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics, or Summer Games and Winter Games.

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Paralympics Staged in Paris from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8, involving around 4,400 athletes with physical impairments from approximately 170 countries. The 22 sports on the program include badminton and taekwondo, canoe/kayak, wheelchair basketball, equestrian, boccia, wheelchair tennis, wheelchair fencing, sitting volleyball, swimming, archery, goalball, football (soccer), track and field, judo, wheelchair rugby, table tennis, triathlon, powerlifting, cycling and shooting.

Athletes are grouped in classifications based on different types of impairments.

The word Paralympic as an adjective (without s) is always capitalized: Paralympic Games, Paralympic organizers, Paralympic gold medal, and so forth.

Paralympics as a noun is also always capitalized, following similar usage rules as Olympics: Paris Paralympics. Paralympic athletes are known as Paralympians.

The games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee; IPC is acceptable on second reference. When reporting on the Paralympics, see the disabilities entry in the AP Stylebook, which encourages specific descriptions and gives guidance on some terms and descriptions.

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Summer Olympics Capitalized. While proper style, note that during the Paris Games it will likely not be necessary in your story to refer to the season.

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Symbols and culture
Olympic rings: five interlocking rings (blue, yellow, black, green and red) symbolizing five areas of the world involved in the Olympic movement (Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and Oceania).
Olympic motto:  Citius, Altius, Fortius – Communiter (faster, higher, stronger – together).
Olympic Charter: code of rules and principles governing the International Olympic Committee and Olympic movement.
Olympism: IOC term for the philosophy of sport, culture and education behind the Olympic movement.
Olympic hymn or anthem: music by Greek composer Spyridon Samaras and lyrics by Greek poet Kostis Palamas. Played at opening and closing ceremony.
Olympic oath: a solemn promise to abide by the rules in the spirit of sportsmanship. Recited by one athlete and one judge or referee at the opening ceremony on behalf of all the athletes and all officials.
Cultural Olympiad: the program of cultural, musical and artistic events organized in the host city around the games.

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euro France uses the euro. Plural is euros. Write euro amounts in the form 100 euros. Do not use the "€" sign. Use currency conversions the first time the currency is mentioned to make clear for readers how a number translates to U.S. dollars, euros, etc. Do not convert amounts that are not current because exchange rates change over time. If necessary for clarity in the story, specify that the conversion is at current exchange rates.

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Sport Identification Codes
ARC – Archery
ATH – Athletics (Track & Field)
BAD – Badminton
BKL – Basketball-Women's (with 3x3 added behind sport code where applicable)
BKO – Basketball-Men's (with 3x3 added behind sport code where applicable)
BOX – Boxing
BRK – Breaking
BVL – Beach Volleyball
CAN – Canoeing
CLB – Sport Climbing
CYC – Cycling (with BMX added behind sport code where applicable)
DIV – Diving
EQU – Equestrian
FEN – Fencing
FHK – Field Hockey
GLF – Golf
GYM – Gymnastics
HNB – Handball
JUD – Judo
KAR – Karate
OLY – Olympics (with a specific sport code added behind where applicable)
PEN – Modern Pentathlon
ROW – Rowing
RGU – Rugby Sevens
SAI – Sailing
SHO – Shooting
SKB – Skateboarding
SOC – Soccer
SOF – Softball
SRF – Surfing
SWM – Swimming
TAE – Taekwondo
TEN – Tennis
TRI – Triathlon
TTN – Table Tennis
VOL – Volleyball
WPO – Water Polo
WEI – Weightlifting
WRE – Wrestling