Summer Olympics 2024
Photo of the the Eiffel Tower in Paris (Photo: Olympics).
The 2024 Summer Olympics are upon us just like that kicking off on July 26 and lasting to August 11. So what has been going on behind the scenes in Paris to prepare for the largest sporting event in the world? Well back in 2017 the bidding for the event started and Los Angeles, Hamburg and Budapest all wanted to host. Paris came out on top but with a large $4.4 billion to pay. That was merely the beginning of the spending after using another $10 billion to prepare Paris for the Olympics. So where has this $10 billion gone?
Well first of all Paris is looking to cut half the game's carbon footprint since the previous games in 2020 which takes money, but Paris has taken drastic measures to use mostly existing venues. In comparison the summer olympics in Japan built almost all new structures which are much less sustainable. Paris has achieved this goal having 95% of the venues ethier being temporary structures or old existing venues saving lots of money. The money is really going into making all these existing venues carbon neutral running entirely off renewable energy. One last way of trying to make the games more carbon neutral is by making all the events within walking distance to reduce emissions made by cars. The downturn to this is any changes wanted to be made cost more money because of their proximity to downtown.
Another point of preparation Paris is taking this summer is creating the infrastructure to deal with all 15 million visitors, athletes and security. As I said they have been taking measures to use primarily old buildings but it's undeniable that they need more room for visitors to stay. So Paris has been encouraging and building countless hotels around the city in preparation for people coming. Like I discussed , this costs money because the land these hotels are being built on is valuable. One positive that has come out is since Paris is already such a touristy city large numbers of people are nothing new to them. An estimated 50 million people visit every year so the roads and other infrastructure needed is already there with only minor tweaks.
Visiting this summer for the United States are some of the greatest athletes we have had for years. First of all the basketball team is a major step up to that of the team in 2020. This year big names like Lebron James, Devin Booker and Steph Curry will be playing. You may also want to look for women's golfer Nelly Korda who is looking to defend her gold medal and win another as she's four for five in prior olympics. Simone Biles is coming back and looking to break history as the most decorated gymnast ever. There are countless more American athletes set to make headlines so definitely be excited to see what happens.