2024 Summer Olympics facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Games of the XXXIII Olympiad

Emblem of the 2024 Summer Olympics
Host city	Paris, France
Motto	Games Wide Open (French: Ouvrons Grand les Jeux)
Nations	206 (including the AIN and EOR teams)
Athletes	10,714
Events	329 in 32 sports (48 disciplines)
Opening	26 July 2024
Closing	11 August 2024
Opened by	President Emmanuel Macron
Cauldron	Teddy Riner Marie-José Pérec
Summer
← Tokyo 2020 Los Angeles 2028 →
Winter
← Beijing 2022 Milano Cortina 2026 →

The 2024 Summer Olympics, also known as Paris 2024, was a huge international sports event. It took place in France from July 24 to August 11, 2024. The exciting opening ceremony was held on July 26.

Paris was the main host city. However, some events, especially football, were held in 16 other cities across France. For example, sailing happened in Marseille, a city by the Mediterranean Sea. Even surfing had its own special spot in Tahiti, which is far away in French Polynesia.

Paris won the right to host these Games on September 13, 2017, in Lima, Peru. Paris had hosted the Summer Olympics twice before, in 1900 and 1924. This made Paris the second city ever to host the Summer Olympics three times. London was the first, hosting in 1908, 1948, and 2012.

The 2024 Games marked 100 years since the Paris 1924 Olympics. It was also the first time since the 1992 Winter Games that France hosted the Olympics. These Games returned to the usual four-year cycle, after the 2020 Olympics were moved to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new sport, breaking (breakdancing), made its first appearance at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The Games were expected to cost around €9 billion.

The United States won the most medals overall, with 126 in total, including 40 gold medals. China also won 40 gold medals, coming in second place with 91 medals overall. This was the first time in Summer Olympic history that two countries tied for the most gold medals. Japan finished third with 20 gold medals. The host country, France, came in fifth with 16 gold medals and 64 medals in total.

Some countries won their first-ever Olympic medals in Paris. These included Dominica and Saint Lucia, both winning gold! Cape Verde and Albania also won their first medals. Botswana and Guatemala won their first gold medals. The Refugee Olympic Team also earned their first medal, a bronze in boxing.

How Paris Was Chosen

Paris had tried to host the Games before, losing bids for the 1992, 2008, and 2012 Olympics. For the 2024 Games, six cities originally wanted to host: Paris, Hamburg, Boston, Budapest, Rome, and Los Angeles.

However, some cities decided to withdraw their bids. Boston pulled out because of mixed feelings in the city. Hamburg withdrew after a public vote. Rome and Budapest also decided not to continue, mainly due to money problems.

This left only Paris and Los Angeles. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) then decided to choose hosts for both the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics at the same time. On July 31, 2017, Los Angeles agreed to host in 2028, which meant Paris was confirmed for 2024. Both decisions were made official on September 13, 2017.

Host City Election Results

Paris was officially chosen as the host city on September 13, 2017, in Lima, Peru.

2024 Summer Olympics
Bidding Results

City	Nation	Votes
Paris	France	Selected as 2024 host
Los Angeles	United States	Selected as 2028 host
Hamburg	Germany	Withdrew
Rome	Italy
Budapest	Hungary

Preparing for the Games

Olympic Venues

Many Olympic events were held in Paris and its surrounding areas. These included nearby cities like Saint-Denis, Le Bourget, and Versailles.

Some events took place further away. Basketball games were held in Lille, about 225 kilometers from Paris. Sailing and some football matches were in Marseille, which is 777 kilometers away. The surfing events were held in Teahupo'o village in Tahiti, French Polynesia, which is 15,716 kilometers from Paris! Football games also happened in five other cities: Bordeaux, Décines-Charpieu (near Lyon), Nantes, Nice, and Saint-Étienne.

Grand Paris Zone Venues

Stade de France

Paris Aquatic Centre

Porte de La Chapelle Arena

Paris Centre Zone Venues

Champ de Mars

Grand Palais

Les Invalides

Parc des Princes

Stade Roland Garros

Versailles Zone Venues

Le Golf National

Vélodrome de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines

Château de Versailles

Vaires–Torcy Nautical Centre

Outlying Venues

Parc Olympique Lyonnais

Roucas Blanc Olympic Marina, Marseille

Non-Competitive Venues

Medals

The medals for the Paris 2024 Olympics were special. They had small hexagon-shaped pieces of iron from the original Eiffel Tower built into them. This idea was to connect the Games to a famous French landmark.

About 5,084 medals were made by the French mint, Monnaie de Paris. They were designed by a fancy jewelry company called Chaumet.

On the back, the medals showed Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. She was placed inside the Panathenaic Stadium, where the first modern Olympics were held in 1896. You could also see the Parthenon and the Eiffel Tower in the background. Each medal weighed between 455 and 529 grams.

Security Measures

France worked with other countries like Europol and the UK to make the Games safe. They planned to use more drones and sea barriers to help with security. The British Army also helped by providing air security.

Many countries sent police officers to help, including Belgium, Canada, Germany, India, and the United States. This showed how important international teamwork was for safety.

Security concerns changed the plans for the opening ceremony. It was originally going to be a huge public event along the Seine river. However, the number of people allowed to watch was cut in half, from 600,000 to 300,000. Free viewing spots became invitation-only. French President Emmanuel Macron even said the ceremony might be moved if needed. About 75,000 police and military officials were on duty in Paris.

Food for Athletes

The Paris 2024 Games aimed to be more eco-friendly. They served twice as much plant-based food as previous Olympics. This meant offering vegan chicken nuggets and hot dogs to make 30% of the menu plant-based.

Around 13 million meals were planned to be served during the Games. A special restaurant with 3,500 seats was built to showcase food from around the world. Teams like Great Britain asked for porridge, and South Korea requested kimchi.

However, some athletes staying in the Olympic Village complained about the food. They said there weren't enough eggs or grilled meats, and sometimes meat was served raw. Because of this, some teams brought their own chefs and food supplies.

Air Conditioning in the Village

The Olympic Village buildings did not have traditional air conditioning. Instead, they used a special geothermal cooling system. This system was designed to keep the inside temperature about 6 degrees Celsius cooler than outside.

Many teams, including Canada, Great Britain, and Japan, brought their own air conditioning units. However, teams from less wealthy countries, like Uganda, said they couldn't afford to do this for their athletes.

Transportation Changes

Over €500 million was spent on improving transport for the Games. This included new extensions for the Paris Métro and 60 kilometers of new bike lanes. Visitors had to pay higher public transport fares during the Games, €4 instead of €2.15. This extra money helped pay for more frequent and longer service hours. Special lanes were also set up for athletes and officials to ensure they arrived on time.

Volunteers

About 45,000 volunteers from all over the world were expected to help at the Games. Over 300,000 people applied, which was more than for the previous two Olympics. These volunteers helped with many tasks to make the Games run smoothly.

Torch Relay

Two torchbearers in Carcassonne

The Olympic torch relay started on April 16 in Olympia, Greece, 100 days before the Games began. Greek rower Stefanos Douskos was the first torchbearer. French swimmer Laure Manaudou was the first French torchbearer.

The torch relay had 10,000 torchbearers. It visited over 400 places in 65 French areas, including some overseas territories. However, the relay in New Caledonia was canceled due to local unrest.

The Games Events

Opening Ceremony

A viewing party for the 2020 Summer Olympics at Jardins du Trocadéro, which hosted the official protocol for the opening ceremony

The Olympic cauldron at the Tuileries Garden.

The opening ceremony started at 7:30 PM on July 26, 2024. It was the first Summer Olympics opening ceremony held outside a traditional stadium. The athletes paraded on boats along the Seine river. Cultural performances took place at famous landmarks along the route. The ceremony aimed to show important moments in French history and celebrate "shared humanity."

After the boat parade, the athletes gathered at Jardins du Trocadéro, near the Eiffel Tower. About 326,000 tickets were sold for viewing spots along the Seine. Many of these tickets were given to volunteers, young people, and low-income families.

Famous artists performed, including Lady Gaga, Aya Nakamura, and Céline Dion. French President Emmanuel Macron officially opened the Games. The Olympic cauldron was lit by judoka Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-José Pérec. The cauldron had a hot air balloon design and floated above the Tuileries Garden at night. For the first time, the flames were created by LED lights and water jets, not actual fire.

Sports and Competitions

The 2024 Summer Olympics featured 329 events across 32 sports. This included 28 core Olympic sports and 4 optional sports chosen by Paris. Breakdancing made its Olympic debut. Skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing returned after first appearing in the 2020 Olympics.

Some sports had new events. Formula Kite debuted in canoeing, which is a high-speed foil racing event. Kayak cross also appeared for the first time, with four athletes racing head-to-head. Sport climbing had a new format, splitting into separate bouldering and lead events, plus a speed event. 3x3 basketball, which started in Tokyo, was back. There were also new weight classes in boxing and a mixed relay in marathon race walking.

Medal Ceremonies for Past Games

Champions Park also hosted medal ceremonies for events from past Olympics, going back to the Sydney 2000 Games. One important ceremony was for the team figure skating event from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The medals for this event had been delayed because a Russian skater, Kamila Valieva, tested positive for a banned substance.

In January 2024, Valieva was disqualified. This meant the United States team was upgraded to gold, and Japan to silver. The medal ceremony in Paris was the first time these teams received their medals with a full crowd watching.

Closing Ceremony

The closing ceremony was held at Stade de France on August 11, 2024. It was called "Records" and had a theme about a future where the Olympic Games had disappeared. A group of "space people" then reinvented them.

More than a hundred performers, including acrobats and dancers, took part. Famous people like Tom Cruise, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Billie Eilish also appeared. The Olympic flag was handed over to Los Angeles, the host city for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Participating Countries

204 out of 206 National Olympic Committees took part in the 2024 Summer Games. This included countries from Africa, Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Oceania. North Korea returned to the Games after missing the 2020 Olympics.

Because of the conflict in Ukraine, the IOC suspended the Olympic Committees of Russia and Belarus. Athletes from these countries competed as "Individual Neutral Athletes" (AIN). They did not represent their countries and were not part of the medal tables. The Refugee Olympic Team also competed.

Participating nations

Number of Athletes by Country

Ranking	NOC	Athletes
1	United States	592
2	France	573
3	Australia	460
4	Germany	428
5	China	405
6	Japan	403
7	Spain	383
8	Italy	371
9	Great Britain	327
10	Canada	315
11	Brazil	277
12	Netherlands	258
13	Poland	210
14	New Zealand	195
15	Hungary	170
16	Belgium	165
17	South Africa	149
18	Egypt	148
19	South Korea	141
20	Ukraine	140
21	Argentina	136
22	Ireland	134
23	Switzerland	127
24	Denmark	124
25	India	117
25	Sweden	117
27	Serbia	113
28	Czech Republic	111
29	Mexico	107
30	Norway	107
31	Romania	106
32	Turkey	102
33	Greece	100
34	Slovenia	90
35	Israel	88
35	Nigeria	88
37	Colombia	87
38	Uzbekistan	86
39	Kazakhstan	79
40	Austria	78
41	Croatia	73
41	Portugal	73
43	Kenya	72
44	Cuba	61
45	Chinese Taipei	60
45	Morocco	60
47	Dominican Republic	58
47	Jamaica	58
49	Finland	56
50	Puerto Rico	51
50	Thailand	51
50	Lithuania	51
53	Chile	48
53	Azerbaijan	48
55	Bulgaria	46
56	Algeria	45
57	Iran	41
58	Ecuador	40
59	Refugee Olympic Team	37
60	Hong Kong	36
61	Ethiopia	34
62	Fiji	33
62	Venezuela	33
64	Individual Neutral Athletes	32
64	Mongolia	32
66	Indonesia	29
66	Latvia	29
68	Georgia	28
68	Paraguay	28
68	Slovakia	28
71	Tunisia	27
71	Zambia	27
73	Malaysia	26
73	Moldova	26
73	Peru	26
76	Uruguay	25
77	Angola	24
77	Estonia	24
77	Guinea	24
77	Samoa	24
77	Uganda	24
82	Mali	23
82	Singapore	23
84	Iraq	22
84	Philippines	22
86	Montenegro	19
87	Bahamas	18
87	Trinidad and Tobago	18
89	Cyprus	16
89	Guatemala	16
89	Kyrgyzstan	16
89	North Korea	16
89	Vietnam	16
94	Armenia	15
95	Luxembourg	14
95	Qatar	14
95	South Sudan	14
95	Tajikistan	14
99	Bahrain	13
99	Mauritius	13
99	United Arab Emirates	13
102	Eritrea	12
102	Jordan	12
104	Botswana	11
104	Ivory Coast	11
104	Senegal	11
107	Lebanon	10
108	Kosovo	9
108	Kuwait	9
108	Saudi Arabia	9
111	Albania	8
111	Bermuda	8
111	Burkina Faso	8
111	El Salvador	8
111	Ghana	8
111	Guam	8
111	Liberia	8
111	Palestine	8
111	Panama	8
111	Rwanda	8
121	Burundi	7
121	Cape Verde	7
121	Djibouti	7
121	The Gambia	7
121	Haiti	7
121	Madagascar	7
121	Mozambique	7
121	Nepal	7
121	Nicaragua	7
121	Niger	7
121	North Macedonia	7
121	Pakistan	7
121	Papua New Guinea	7
121	Tanzania	7
121	Zimbabwe	7
136	Afghanistan	6
136	Aruba	6
136	Cameroon	6
136	Costa Rica	6
136	Democratic Republic of the Congo	6
136	Grenada	6
136	Guinea-Bissau	6
136	Libya	6
136	Monaco	6
136	Sri Lanka	6
136	Syria	6
136	Turkmenistan	6
136	Vanuatu	6
149	Antigua and Barbuda	5
149	Bangladesh	5
149	Benin	5
149	Bosnia and Herzegovina	5
149	Gabon	5
149	Guyana	5
149	Iceland	5
149	Maldives	5
149	Malta	5
149	San Marino	5
149	Suriname	5
149	Togo	5
149	Virgin Islands	5
162	Barbados	4
162	British Virgin Islands	4
162	Bolivia	4
162	Cayman Islands	4
162	Central African Republic	4
162	Comoros	4
162	Dominica	4
162	East Timor	4
162	Honduras	4
162	Laos	4
162	Marshall Islands	4
162	Namibia	4
162	Oman	4
162	Republic of the Congo	4
162	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	4
162	Saint Lucia	4
162	Sierra Leone	4
162	Sudan	4
162	Tonga	4
162	Yemen	4
182	Bhutan	3
182	Brunei	3
182	Cambodia	3
182	Chad	3
182	Equatorial Guinea	3
182	Eswatini	3
182	Federated States of Micronesia	3
182	Kiribati	3
182	Lesotho	3
182	Malawi	3
182	Palau	3
182	Saint Kitts and Nevis	3
182	São Tomé and Príncipe	3
182	Seychelles	3
196	American Samoa	2
196	Andorra	2
196	Cook Islands	2
196	Mauritania	2
196	Myanmar	2
196	Solomon Islands	2
196	Tuvalu	2
203	Belize	1
203	Liechtenstein	1
203	Nauru	1
203	Somalia	1

Games Schedule

This is the official schedule for the events. All times are in Central European Summer Time (UTC+2).

OC

Opening ceremony

●

Event competitions

1

Gold medal events

CC

Closing ceremony

July/August 2024		July								August											Events
		24th Wed	25th Thu	26th Fri	27th Sat	28th Sun	29th Mon	30th Tue	31st Wed	1st Thu	2nd Fri	3rd Sat	4th Sun	5th Mon	6th Tue	7th Wed	8th Thu	9th Fri	10th Sat	11th Sun
Ceremonies				OC																CC	N/A
Aquatics	Artistic swimming													●	●	1		●	1		2
	Diving				1		1		1		1			●	1	●	1	1	1		8
	Marathon swimming																1	1			2
	Swimming				4	3	5	3	5	4	3	4	4								35
	Water polo				●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	2
Archery			●			1	1	●	●	●	1	1	1								5
Athletics										2	1	5	3	4	5	5	5	8	9	1	48
Badminton					●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	1	2							5
Basketball	Basketball				●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		●	●	●	●	1	1	2
	3×3 Basketball							●	●	●	●	●	●	2							2
Boxing					●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		1	2	2	4	4		13
Breaking																		1	1		2
Canoeing	Slalom				●	1	1	●	1	1	●	●	●	2							6
	Sprint														●	●	3	4	3		10
Cycling	Road cycling				2							1	1								4
	Track cycling													1	1	2	2	2	1	3	12
	BMX							●	2	●	2										4
	Mountain biking					1	1														2
Equestrian
	Dressage							●	●			1	1								2
	Eventing				●	●	2														2
	Jumping									●	1			●	1						2
Fencing					2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1								12
Field hockey					●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1			2
Football		●	●		●	●		●	●		●	●		●	●		●	1	1		2
Golf										●	●	●	1			●	●	●	1		2
Gymnastics	Artistic				●	●	1	1	1	1		3	3	4							14
	Rhythmic																●	1	1		2
	Trampoline										2										2
Handball			●		●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		●	●	●	●	1	1	2
Judo					2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1									15
Modern pentathlon																	●	●	1	1	2
Rowing					●	●	●	●	2	4	4	4									14
Rugby sevens		●	●		1	●	●	1													2
Sailing						●	●	●	●	●	2	2	●	●	●	2	3	1			10
Shooting					1	2	2	2	1	1	1	2	1	2							15
Skateboarding						1	1								1	1					4
Sport climbing														●	●	1	1	1	1		4
Surfing					●	●	●			●				2							2
Table tennis					●	●	●	1	●	●	●	1	1	●	●	●	●	1	1		5
Taekwondo																2	2	2	2		8
Tennis					●	●	●	●	●	●	1	2	2								5
Triathlon									2					1							3
Volleyball	Beach volleyball				●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1		2
	Volleyball				●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	2
Weightlifting																2	2	2	3	1	10
Wrestling														●	3	3	3	3	3	3	18
Daily medal events		0			13	13	19	11	18	16	23	29	20	20	13	21	26	35	39	13	329
Cumulative total		0			13	26	45	56	74	90	113	142	162	182	195	216	242	277	316	329
July/August 2024
		24th Wed	25th Thu	26th Fri	27th Sat	28th Sun	29th Mon	30th Tue	31st Wed	1st Thu	2nd Fri	3rd Sat	4th Sun	5th Mon	6th Tue	7th Wed	8th Thu	9th Fri	10th Sat	11th Sun	Total events
		July								August

Medal Table

  *   Host nation (France)

2024 Summer Olympics medal table

Rank	NOC	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	40	44	42	126
2	China	40	27	24	91
3	Japan	20	12	13	45
4	Australia	18	19	16	53
5	France*	16	26	22	64
6	Netherlands	15	7	12	34
7	Great Britain	14	22	29	65
8	South Korea	13	9	10	32
9	Italy	12	13	15	40
10	Germany	12	13	8	33
11–91	Remaining NOCs	129	138	194	461
Totals (91 entries)		329	330	385	1,044

Podium Sweeps

Only one event at the Games saw athletes from the same country win all three medals (gold, silver, and bronze):

Date	Sport	Event	Team	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Ref
2 August	Cycling	Men's BMX race	France	Joris Daudet	Sylvain André	Romain Mahieu

Marketing and Symbols

Emblem

The emblem for the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics was revealed on October 21, 2019. It was inspired by Art Deco style. The emblem shows Marianne, a symbol of France, with a flame shaped by her hair. It also looks like a gold medal.

The organizers said the emblem showed "the power and the magic of the Games." It also honored the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, which were the first to allow women to compete. Many design magazines called it the biggest new logo of 2019. For the first time, the Olympics and Paralympics shared the exact same emblem.

Mascots

On November 14, 2022, the Phryges were introduced as the mascots for the 2024 Games. They are two characters shaped like Phrygian caps. These caps are a historic French symbol of freedom. Marianne, the symbol of France, often wears a Phrygian cap. The mascots' motto is: "Alone we go faster, but together we go further."

Merchandise

An official Olympic video game called Olympics Go! Paris 2024 was released in June 2024 for phones and computers. This was the first Summer Olympics in over 30 years without a main video game for consoles.

Posters

The official Olympic poster for the Games was revealed on March 4, 2024. It was designed by Ugo Gattoni. The poster is a two-part design, with one half for the Olympics and the other for the Paralympics. They can be seen separately or combined into one big poster. It took 2,000 hours over six months to create these detailed posters.

Sponsors

Many companies helped support the Paris 2024 Games. Some were "Worldwide Olympic Partners," like Coca-Cola and Samsung. Others were "Premium Partners," such as Accor and LVMH. These companies provided money and services to help make the Games happen.

LVMH, a luxury goods company, was a "Premium" sponsor. Their brands, like Louis Vuitton, provided special trunks for the Olympic torch and medals. They also designed outfits for medal presenters. This showed how luxury fashion was part of the Games.

Broadcasting the Games

In France, Warner Bros. Discovery (through Eurosport) owned the rights to broadcast the Games. They shared some free-to-air coverage with France Télévisions, the public broadcaster.

The official Olympics website also offered live streaming and recordings in some countries, including Brazil and the Indian subcontinent.

See also

In Spanish: Juegos Olímpicos de París 2024 para niños

• 2028 Summer Olympics
• 2032 Summer Olympics
• NBC Olympic Broadcasts