Coordination Commission visit highlights optimisations as key to Paris 2024 progress

International Olympic Committee’s Coordination Commission describes the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games as "right on track" after a site visit to Paris 01 Sep 2022
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Officials look at a miniature model of a city landscape while one man speaks in a microphone.
The Paris 2024 Games will help to develop the Seine-Saint-Denis area by building an Olympic and Paralympic Village, which is later to be turned into a new residential district offering around 2,800 family apartments and facilities.
ⒸFrederic Bujalkov/Paris 2024
By IOC and IPC

The Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 are “right on track” – that was the message delivered by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Coordination Commission this week following a visit to the French capital.

Optimisations to Games delivery, meticulous budgetary planning and increasing engagement were highlighted as key to advancing Games preparations.

Speaking about the visit, the IOC’s Coordination Commission Chair, Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant, said: “It’s very encouraging to see all the great work being done by the team in Paris. We are right on track, and excitement is continuing to grow, not only in France but also among thousands of athletes around the world who are competing to qualify for these Games.

“Optimisation will remain an important focus for those involved in this project," Beckers-Vieujant added. "Guided by the recommendations of Olympic Agenda 2020 and the New Norm, flexibility, creativity and close collaboration between all stakeholders will be crucial to identifying and implementing efficiencies. This will be key to achieving Paris 2024’s ambition and delivering a new era of Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, said: “The encouragement from the Coordination Commission gives us the confidence we need to maintain the same level of ambition – to deliver the most ambitious Games in living memory. Games that are more open to the public, for example, through a new venue concept and the Olympic Opening Ceremony being staged in the heart of the city; more engaging, thanks to innovations such as the Terre de Jeux 2024 label and Club Paris 2024, which has seen hundreds of thousands of people commit to the Games; and more socially responsible, by placing an emphasis on legacy and sustainability. With the latest polls showing 80 percent of public support, we are very glad the French people are as enthusiastic as we are about this unique project.”

Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, said he was encouraged by the findings of the Coordination Commission. @Frederic Bujalkov/Paris 2024

During the meetings, the Coordination Commission received an insight into the growing sense of anticipation in France, boosted by the launch of Paris 2024’s slogan – “Games wide open”. Increasing interest in Paris 2024’s engagement programmes reflects this excitement. Club Paris 2024 now has over 800,000 members, while Terre de Jeux 2024  includes more than 3,200 community projects, reaching more than 33 million people across the country.

While those programmes will make important contributions to Paris 2024’s legacy objectives, the Organising Committee highlighted its ongoing campaign to get schoolchildren to undertake 30 minutes of physical activity daily. This is already delivering a legacy for the Games, as shown by the fact that it has become a national policy in France. Since the campaign’s launch two years ago, one third of French schools are already part of the programme.

The Coordination Commission heard that engagement has also benefitted from Paris 2024’s commercial activities. This includes their growing licensing programme, and the progress of their commercial partnerships strategy. With 20 domestic partners already confirmed, the team in Paris explained that more are planned to be finalised within the coming months, with an objective of securing 80 percent of partnerships before the end of the year.

Updates on Paris 2024’s extensive sustainability strategy, aimed at delivering climate-positive Games, were also provided. These summarised the continued efforts of the Organising Committee to reduce its emissions, as reflected by its innovative energy programme, its ambitious “Food Vision”, and its circular economy approach.

Key to achieving these sustainability ambitions is that 95 percent of venues either already exist or are temporary. Earlier in the week, two of the new venues were visited by the Coordination Commission, both of which will leave lasting legacies for the local community.

One stop was the Olympic and Paralympic Village – a clear example of the Games stimulating sustainable urban regeneration. The properties will form a new residential district, offering around 2,800 family apartments along with extensive leisure, commercial, community and educational facilities, in line with the long-term development of the Paris region.

The other stop gave the Commission an insight into the progress being made on the Aquatics Centre in Seine-Saint-Denis. This venue was designed to address the needs of the local community, in an area that is seriously lacking in sports facilities and where one in every two children starting secondary school doesn’t know how to swim.

The Organising Committee explained that the Aquatics Centre will not only house the pool post-Games, but also become a multi-sports facility open to all – one that will include fitness facilities, a climbing wall, a skatepark and areas for individual and team sports.

The next major milestone for Paris 2024 will be the launch of hospitality packages for the general public within the next few weeks, with more information about public ticket sales to be revealed in December. This follows the release of the finalised sports competition calendar by event earlier this year.

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will take place from 28 August until 8 September to follow on the Olympic Games, which take place between 26 July and 11 August.