The challenges at this years Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris

This years Games are clearly one of the most wide-spread event in the history of the Olympics: 25 venues (13 within Paris and 12 in the inner and outer suburbs) were chosen for the various sports activities including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. In total 17 venues (including 10 in Paris and 7 in the suburbs) await the athletes, coaches, press and visitors during the Paralympic Games. From several venues in Paris, to Lille and Marseille in the North and South of France. The most remote venue is reserved for the surfing spectacle which takes place at Teahupo’o in Tahiti, a mere 15,750 kilometres away from most other sports activities at the Games.

The daily workload is substantial: we expect 50 sessions per day or a total of 767 sessions, including the two ceremonies. At the Paralympic Games a total of 261 sessions including the two ceremonies will be held. Paris is bracing for up to 500,000 spectators per day during the French summer holidays. 300,000 spectators for the Paralympic Games will find it even tougher to move within Paris and the other locations, as these events will take place during the back-to-school period in France.

An untraditional and impressive opening ceremony for the Olympics in Paris will be held on July 26th. Here all athletes will go by boat down the Seine for 6 km. The rest of the city on the banks of the river is a party zone with more than 600,000 spectators expected just for the night. This is the first Opening Ceremony ever outside of a stadium and obviously a great idea for all those, that wanted to avoid entry tickets for the price of a flight to Tahiti.

For those who plan to use public transport including the Parisian metro or one of the 800 electric buses, there is a special 'Paris 2024' travel pass offering unlimited travel to Olympic venues, costing €16  per day or €70 per week. A dedicated mobile app was launched prior to the Games offering a trip planner with access plans to different venues. I downloaded the app and love its simplicity and design: my transportation to and from the various venues was sorted within twenty minutes. More than 3,000 security and safety staff will be present on the Île-de-France public transportation network, on platforms, at stations and on-board. A human presence for security in public transport will ensure the safety of passengers, acting in addition to the national police and gendarmerie forces and will be mobilised for the Paris 2024 Games.

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Another mode of transport that has taken Paris by storm is the bicycle or the e-bike: The Île-de-France region integrated 1,400 km of cycle paths with more than 400 of them installed just for the Olympics. City officials took away quite a lot of space for unproductive car parks or lanes for Parisian car traffic and planted trees and bushes instead. Traffic on the Périphérique as the freeway around the city was slowed down to 50 km/h, many streets in the 20 arrondissements are now 30 km/h zones. Not always loved by the Parisians for that, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo staid clear in her mission to showcase “a Paris that can breathe”.

Taking all these mobility changes together tells us: Actively managing transportation for millions requires years of long and meticulous planning. The true test will be ensuring these investments benefit Paris long after the Games, just as they did in Munich, Sydney or London at previous Olympic Games. Read more about how these cities fared after the flame went out here.

Images courtesy of Paris Olympics 2024.