February 18.2022

PARIS is determined to hold the 2024 Olympic Games in some ways never tried before, Tony Estanguet, head of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, told Xinhua in an interview. 

The 2024 Olympics will be games open to the public, said Estanguet, who won Olympic gold in C1 canoe slalom at Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and London 2012. 

“Through an open Games, we have the ambition to bring sport into the heart of Paris, closer to the fans. The first-ever mass participation marathon on the same day and same course of the Olympic marathon, and an Opening Ceremony on the River Seine, are just some of the ways we plan to open up the Games to a wider audience than ever before,” he said. 

“As of today, I can say that we haven’t lost sight of that ambition and that our preparations continue to be on track and on budget,” said the former Olympic champion. 

Some competitions of the Paris Olympics will take place in the spectacular heritage, culture and historic landmarks of Paris. For example, The Grand Palais will hold fencing and taekwondo, the Champ-de-Mars Arena will stage judo and wrestling. 

“We know we are blessed with one of the most beautiful cities in the world and so our ambition right from the very start was to integrate the Games into the City of Paris as much as possible,” said Estanguet. 

“Paris is our field of play, and we plan to make the most of it. This will also create some iconic backdrops for television for the benefit of all fans watching from home,” he said. Estanguet revealed how the Paris 2024 organizers came up with the plan to hold the opening ceremony on the Seine.— Xinhua