It’s hard to believe that an Olympic year has rolled around yet again. In 2024, the world’s largest sporting event will bring together more than 10,500 athletes (5,250 women and 5,250 men) in a grand spectacle encompassing 329 medal events across 32 sports. Whether you're lucky enough to be travelling to Paris or tuning in from half way around the world, there are countless ways to get around the green and gold. Here’s everything you need to know about watching the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
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Where are the 2024 Olympics?
The Games will be hosted in Paris, France across 41 venues, with the surfing competition taking place in Teahupo’o, Tahiti.
Arguably France’s most famous stadium, the Stade De France will host the athletics and rugby sevens competitions. The lawns of Champ de Mars, between the Eiffel Tower and the École Militaire, will transform into a pop-up arena for beach volleyball, judo and wrestling, while one of the city's most famous public squares at the eastern end of the Champs-Élyséess, Place De La Concorde, will turn into an urban park for the BMX freestyle, skateboarding, breaking and 3x3 basketball events.
When are the 2024 Olympics?
The Olympic Games will kick off with a spectacular opening ceremony on Friday, July 26 and will continue for 19 days, ending with the closing ceremony on Sunday, August 11.
The first events technically begin two days before the opening ceremony with preliminary handball, archery, football and rugby sevens games commencing on Wednesday, July 24 and Thursday, July 25.
From July 27, you can tune into the artistic gymnastics, badminton, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing and canoe slalom events. You can check out the competition schedule here.
What time is the Olympic opening ceremony?
In 2024, the largest-ever Olympic Games opening ceremony will take place on July 26. The grand spectacle will begin at 8.24pm local time in Paris and is the first time that a Summer Games opening ceremony will be hosted outside a stadium. During the ceremony, athletes will travel down the Seine River on boats, allowing spectators to line the riverbanks and cheer on their teams for free.
If you’re hoping to tune it from Australia, then be prepared for an early start. The ceremony will be streamed at 2.24am AWST (WA), 3.54am ACST (SA, NT) and 4.24am AEST (QLD, NSW, VIC, TAS and ACT).
Where can I watch the 2024 Olympics in Australia?
The 2024 Olympic Games will be broadcast in Australia on more than 40 free-to-air channels under the Nine Network. You can also watch on-demand highlights for free after they’ve happened at your own convenience on its 9Now streaming platform.
The 9Now platform can be accessed on your web browser or through your Smart TV, mobile or tablet after downloading the app.
Who’s representing Australia in the 2024 Olympics?
Australia is gearing up to send almost 500 athletes to this year’s Summer Olympics. While teams are still being finalised, you can stay updated on the selections made so far here.
On April 15, the first batch of Aussie track and field athletes were named, including 19-year-old, 800m runner Claudia Hollingsworth and Olympic veteran hurdler Michelle Jenneke. Athletes have also been chosen for the boxing, breaking (brand new Olympic event), canoe, sailing, climbing and swimming events, with the full team to be announced in the coming months.
Have the Matildas qualified for the 2024 Olympics?
Australia’s women’s football team, the Matildas, secured their spot in the 2024 Olympics after winning the third and final round of the 2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in February. They are currently ranked as the third-best team in Group B (behind USA and Germany) and the 12th best team worldwide.
The Matilda’s made the semi-final round at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but just missed out on a medal after losing to the USA by one point.
Meanwhile, Australia’s men’s football team, the Olyroos, failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
How many medals will Australia win at the 2024 Olympics?
With less than 100 days until the Games begin, data specialist Gracenote has released its predicted medal standings for each country. Australia is slated to finish in fifth place on the medal tally with a total of 50 medals, including 13 gold, 19 silver and 18 bronze. However, you can never predict these things – after all, who doesn’t love an underdog?
The USA tops the forecasted medal tally with a predicted 123 medals, followed by China with 89, Great Britain with 66, and France with 55.
When are the 2024 Paralympics?
The 2024 Paralympic Games are set to take place in Paris from Wednesday, August 28 to Sunday, September 8. The games will feature 549 events across 22 sports, including blind football, boccia (a form of precision ball sport), sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball.
You can check out the competition schedule here.
Where is the next Olympics in Australia?
The 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be hosted in Brisbane, Queensland. This marks Australia’s third time hosting a Summer Olympics.
When was the last Olympics in Australia?
Sydney hosted Australia’s most recent Summer Olympic Games in 2000. Before Sydney, Australia had only hosted the Olympics once before, in Melbourne in 1956.