Olympics 2024

The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially termed the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad and branded as Paris 2024, unfolded from July 26 to August 11, 2024, in France. The opening ceremony, held on July 26, was notably conducted outside a traditional stadium setting for the first time in modern Olympic history, featuring athletes parading by boat along the Seine River amidst rainy conditions.

Paris served as the central hub for the Games, but events, particularly football, were distributed across 16 other cities throughout metropolitan France. Marseille, France's second-largest city on the Mediterranean Sea, hosted the sailing competitions, while the surfing events took place in Tahiti, French Polynesia.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the Games to Paris during its 131st session in Lima, Peru, on September 13, 2017. After multiple candidate city withdrawals, only Paris and Los Angeles remained. Recognizing the strength of both bids, the IOC made a landmark decision to concurrently award the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics to Paris and Los Angeles, respectively. This event marked Paris's third time hosting the Summer Olympics, following the 1900 and 1924 editions, making it the second city after London to achieve this distinction.

Paris 2024 commemorated the centenary of both Paris 1924 and Chamonix 1924, the latter being the inaugural Winter Olympics. France has now hosted six Olympic Games in total—three Summer and three Winter editions—with the previous being the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville. This Olympiad returned to its traditional four-year cycle after the 2020 Tokyo Games were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A highlight of Paris 2024 was the debut of breaking as an Olympic sport. Additionally, this edition was the final one under the IOC presidency of Thomas Bach. The Games were projected to cost €9 billion.

In terms of athletic achievements, the United States topped the medal table with 40 golds and a total of 126 medals. China matched the U.S. in gold medals but secured 91 medals overall, placing them second. Japan secured third place with 20 golds and ranked sixth in the total medal count. Australia and France rounded out the top five, with Australia earning 18 golds and France, the host nation, achieving 16 golds among their 64 total medals.

Several nations celebrated their inaugural Olympic medals: Dominica and Saint Lucia both clinched gold, while Cape Verde and Albania also reached the podium. Botswana and Guatemala won their first-ever gold medals, and the Refugee Olympic Team secured their maiden medal, a bronze in boxing. Despite facing challenges related to politics, logistics, and conditions in the Olympic Village, the Games were widely regarded as a success by the media and observers.