#29. How Paris Prepared For The Olympic Games?
Paris is currently hosting the 2024 Olympic Summer Games with over 15 million expected visitors over just a two-week period. It becomes the single largest event ever held in the country.
From beach volleyball at the foot of the Eiffel Tower to horseback riding in The Gardens of Versailles, Paris is determined to show off its cultural wealth to the entire world. I'm Pranav, and today I’ll briefly explain Paris's insane Olympic preparations, the story behind the bidding, challenges it faced, and the direct & indirect benefit of hosting these games.
The Story Behind the Bid
In 2017, Paris was competing with Hamburg, Budapest, Rome, and Los Angeles for the opportunity to host the 2024 Olympics. However, following a public referendum, Hamburg withdrew from the process and was soon followed by Rome, which faced financial difficulties. After a successful petition against the candidacy, Budapest also withdrew, leaving only Paris and Los Angeles as candidates. The two cities were then supposed to reach an agreement on which would become a host in 2024 and which in 2028. While Paris was prepared to push strongly against waiting another 4 years, Los Angeles was more open to the idea. This resulted in an agreement in which Los Angeles will host the 2028 games, while the 2024 games will be held in Paris.
This year is in-fact Paris's 3rd time as an Olympic host. The city first hosted the games in 1900, when it hosted the second-ever modern Olympics and allowed women to participate for the first time. Paris hosted the 2nd time again in 1924, introducing the Athletes Village, a tradition that continues today.
And this time around in 2024, they're set to achieve multiple firsts yet again. They'll be the first games in history to feature gender-equal athlete selection, as well as the first to be completely carbon neutral and to include a break-dancing discipline. Not only that, with a budget of $10 billion, they're intended to be one of the cheapest of the century. A little counter-intuitive, but i'll explain how:
While the budget for the Paris 2024 Olympics exceeded initial estimates by over $2 billion, it still remains under control compared to previous games. For instance, the 2012 London Olympics saw the budget rise from $3 billion to $11 billion after over 6,000 modifications, whereas the Paris budget has only needed about 300 modifications so far, indicating greater stability.
The Venues for Event
One of the reasons for this stable budget is Paris's unique approach to selecting venues for the event. Almost all of the sporting events are taking place in either existing arenas or temporary arenas set up in various locations. This strategy largely avoids unnecessary construction projects, which is also consistent with the vision of carbon neutrality. At the same time, this strategy also allows Paris to showcase its most beautiful and historical sites.
This is most visible in Central Paris, where both famous arenas and iconic sites will be used to host different sporting events.
On one hand, the Parc des Princes stadium and the Roland Garros stadium is hosting sports like football, boxing, and tennis. On the other hand, several temporary arenas have been set up throughout the city center's historical sites. Here’s some of the most interesting ones.
Central Paris Venues
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?le-de-France Region
As we move further from the city center into the surrounding ?le-de-France region, we'll also find many impressive venues.
As you can see, the vast majority of the venues have been made ready for use with only minor modifications.
However, in preparation for the other aspects of the Olympics, Paris worked on a few absolutely massive projects.
1/ The New Olympic Village
The new Olympic Village is the largest project. Unlike the temporary wooden huts of 1924, this urban development covers an area of 70 soccer fields in Saint-Denis, just north of Paris. It will accommodate 14,000 Olympic athletes, placing them within 30 minutes of most event venues and providing all necessary facilities. The long-term goal is to improve the local area's socioeconomic conditions by re-purposing the village for residential use after the Olympics, offering spaces for 6,000 people.
2/ Seine River Cleanup
Another significant project involved cleaning up the Seine River, which plays a major role in the opening ceremony and host swimming events. Due to rising pollution, swimming in the river has been banned since 1923. To address this, a colossal underground rainwater tank near the Austerlitz train station will collect polluted rainwater and transport it to a treatment plant. Despite the $1.5 billion price tag, the project is not guaranteed to succeed, especially during heavy rains.
3/ Security and Infrastructure
Security is a major concern, with 20,000 police officers deployed daily and 30,000 additional agents and soldiers mobilized. Traffic will be severely restricted, with some metro stations closing and airports shutting down on the day of the opening ceremony.
Infrastructure is another issue. Public transportation already struggles during rush hours, and the Great Paris Express project to modernize the city's network hasn’t been completed on time. Authorities now expect people to use alternative transport methods, such as walking and cycling.
Why Paris Seems Ready For Olympics?
Despite all the issues, preparations have been relatively smooth compared to other Olympics. This is primarily because the city is already quite accustomed to tourism as one of the most visited places in the entire world. The long-term impact will be mostly positive, thanks to the future-oriented focus of the projects for this year's games. There's also the financial benefit: the expected generated revenue is roughly $1.7 billion, even after accounting for any potential taxation or additional costs. Finally, there's the cultural benefit of sharing the city's cultural wealth with the rest of the world while bringing so many people together for a common purpose—to watch the Olympics.
So, what are your thoughts? Do you like the approach Paris is taking in preparation? Let me know in the comments below.
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4 个月Paris Olympics 2024 can be called The Satanic Games where evil and debauchery was clearly visible and encouraged ??