Combining Olympic Day and City’s Successful Celebrations

As a Paris 2024 bid phase milestone, the 2017 Olympic Day was imagined with the purpose of displaying Paris’ prestige and its capacity to organize a wide-scale sporting event. The goal of the 2018 edition was to anchor the event locally and engage Parisians as real players in the celebration.

The year Paris was designated the host city of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the International Olympic Day was the occasion to engage locals in the adventure. The PARIS 2024 project had been “Made For Sharing” and the City of Paris put together a cohesive event praising Olympic values which was a fantastic occasion to come together and unite around sports and Paris.

Two distinct events were organized to this extent:

The first one took place on June 20th in 14 Parisian districts and tackled sport as a tool for education, health and inclusion. Open to all, and especially to schools and leisure centres, several sportive challenges were organized, inviting Parisians to try six sport activities combined with the transmission of Olympic values: friendship, respect and excellence. Participants could also learn more about the history of the Games and the position of women in sports.

The second event was organized on June 23rd in the heart of the capital city. The banks of the river Seine turned into a tremendous open-air playground with more than 30 Olympic and Paralympic sports installed in a space of 250 000 m2. Tourists and locals had the opportunity to discover and get initiated with various sports ranging from archery to blind football, karate, climbing, wheelchair basketball, etc., in the presence of many French athletes and on the sites of the future Olympic and Paralympic Games. Several bridges and venues were the scene of impressive demonstrations, including a pole-vaulting competition featuring Renaud Lavillenie, world-record holder and gold medallist in London Games. Finally, a night 2024m open race connected two future host sites of the Paris 2024 Games, with the race starting at the Grand Palais, going through the Invalides Esplanade, and finishing at the Eiffel Tower, thus concluding 24 hours of sharing the very special atmosphere and magic of the Games.

Celebrate Olympism and Paris

With the designation of Paris as the host city of the 2024 Games 9 months prior to the event, one of the central aims of the 2018 Olympic Day was the celebration of the City’s success in engaging locals in the adventure of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The event’s motto “24 hours, Olympic mode” was an invitation to the public to spend a weekend “playing it like the Games” and to preview the magic of an Olympic Paris. The ability to discover over 30 free-access Olympic and Paralympic sports in some of the most scenic venues in the French capital was thought to inspire the population with Olympic values and to create a link of passion and proximity with the event and athletes.

Generate engagement and cohesion

Focused on creating a festive and engaging celebration, the organization paid close attention to making every local and visitor feel like a Paris 2024 player and ambassador. The two events were organized in a way that invited everyone to experience and appropriate the Olympic and Paralympic Games’ spirit. On Thursday, June 20^th, the 14 districts’ activities were easily accessible to anyone wishing to practice sport with their neighbours. On Sunday, June 23^rd, the 4km walkable promenade along the river Seine was conceived around a festive playground featuring family-friendly activities and performances. With 35 different sports on offer, participants had the possibility of discovering something new and training with volunteers happy to share their passion with others. The presence of many French athletes in demonstrations and initiations reinforced this idea of social cohesion and aimed at creating a common spirit through shared experiences.

The objective of having a cohesive event around Olympic and Paralympic values through a moment of celebration and sharing was successfully fulfilled.