The biggest sporting event of the year is just around the corner! If you’re not as hyped as we are, experts predict the 2024 Olympics will be Australia’s strongest in 20 years, with our athletes forecasted to bring home 48 medals.
We’ve rounded up everything you need to know about how and when to watch the upcoming Olympic Games, along with a few fun facts for you to impress your colleagues at work:
1. The Olympics will kick off with the Opening Ceremony in Paris on July 26 – almost 100 years since Paris last hosted the Olympics on July 27, 1924.
2. Aussies will need to rise early to watch the Opening Ceremony, which will be streamed at 2.24am AWST (WA), 3.54am ACST (SA, NT) and 4.24am AEST (QLD, NSW, VIC, TAS and ACT).
3. You can watch all Olympic events for free in Australia on 9Now.
4. For the first time in Olympic history, there will be an equal number of male and female competitors. This includes a total of 10,500 athletes from 206 countries.
5. The 2024 Olympics will feature 329 medal events across 32 sports.
6. Australia will send 460 athletes, including 231 Olympic debutantes.
7. Four-time Olympian and equestrian competitor Shan Rose (51) is the oldest team member, while skateboarder Arisa Trew (14) is the youngest.
8. This will be the fifth Olympic games for six Australian athletes, including basketball players Patty Mills, Lauren Jackson and Joe Ingles, equestrian rider Edwina Tops-Alexander, hockey player Eddie Ockenden, and diver Melissa Wu.
9. Breaking (breakdancing) will make its Olympics debut in 2024, where 16 B-Boys and 16 B-Girls will improvise to music in solo battles. Other new events include a marathon race walk mixed relay, kiteboarding events, mixed skeet team (shooting), speed climbing and men’s artistic swimming.
10. The 2024 Olympics will conclude with the women’s marathon on August 11, followed by the Closing Ceremony at 8pm local time in Paris.
11. The motto for the Paris 2024 Olympics is ‘Ouvrons grand les Jeux’, which translates to ‘Games wide open’.
12. The mascot for the Paris 2024 Games is the Olympic Phryge. Decked out in French flag colours, take their shape from the traditional Phrygian red cloth cap – which is a symbol of freedom in France.
13. Australia plans to send 1.4 tonnes of cereal, 20,000 shots of coffee and 10,000 muesli bars to Paris, along with 30 kilograms of salsa for Taco Tuesdays.
14. The Aussie team is expected to consume 3,200 kilograms of tuna and 340 kilograms of rice during the Olympics.
15. Perth is six hours ahead of Paris, while Adelaide is 7.5 hours ahead and Sydney is eight hours ahead – so keep these time differences in mind if you’re hoping to watch a certain event live.