The Paris Olympics starts this week with New Zealand sending a team of 195 athletes as they try to improve on the 20 medals won in 2021.
Here’s 14 key facts about the Olympics.
When are the Paris Olympics 2024?
The Paris Olympics will run from Saturday July 27 to Monday August 12 NZT, but the first action begins on July 25 with Archery, Football, Handball and Rugby Sevens all starting early.
The opening ceremony starts from 5.30am July 27 NZT.
When was the first Olympics held?
The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece in 1896.
What is the meaning of the Olympics torch?
The Olympic torch is a modern invention inspired by practices from ancient Greece. The torch was first used at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It starts from being lit in Athens and travels around the world before arriving at the Opening Ceremony. According to the IOC it heralds the start of the Olympic Games and transmits a message of peace and friendship along its route.
What do the Olympics rings represent?
The Olympic symbol consists of five interlaced rings of equal dimensions, which are, from left to right, blue, yellow, black, green and red. According to the IOC they “express the activity of the Olympic Movement and represents the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games”.
A common misconception is that each of the colours corresponds to a certain continent. Pierre de Coubertin created them rings in 1913, and used the five colours with the white background to represent the colours of the flags of all nations at that time.
Paris will feature 329 events in 33 sports, including the 28 “core” Olympic sports contested in 2016 and 2020. There will also be four optional sports that were proposed by the Paris Organising Committee: breaking will make its Olympic debut as an optional sport, while skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing will return from 2020.
No flag, anthem, colours or any other identifications whatsoever of Russia or Belarus will be displayed at the Paris Olympics, according to the IOC. Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs), athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport, can compete under strict conditions.
Teams of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport will not be considered while athletes who actively support the war will not be eligible.
What is the Olympics 2024 mascot?
Look out Minions! The Paris Olympics mascots are the Phryges - red characters based on the famous Phrygian cap - a symbol of freedom.
What does the Paris Olympics 2024 logo look like?
The logo for Paris 2024 combines three separate symbols – the gold medal, the flame and Marianne, the personification of the French Republic.
“Marianne is the personification of the bold spirit of creativity that inspires our Games,” the official site says. “Marianne, symbol of the French Republic, represents the same values we find in sport, the Olympics and the Paralympics – humanism, fraternity, generosity and sharing. Marianne is a familiar face in French culture that is omnipresent in day-to-day life, appearing on stamps and outside every town hall for example. She reflects our desire to organise the Games for the people, in close collaboration with the people.”
What new sports are making their Paris Olympic 2024 debuts?
Breaking (breakdancing) is the only sport appearing at the Olympics for the first time. There will be two events, one each for men and women. There will be 16 “b-boys” and “b-girls” competing.
What do the Paris Olympics 2024 medals look like?
An Olympic medal inlaid with a piece of the Eiffel Tower. How’s that for a monumental prize? Games organisers revealed their revolutionary design in February.
A hexagonal, polished chunk of iron taken from the iconic landmark is being embedded in each gold, silver and bronze medal that will be hung around athletes’ necks at the July 26-Aug. 11 Paris Games and Paralympics that follow.
The Goddess Nike, the Acropolis of Athens... and the Eiffel Tower.
The Paris Mint is manufacturing 5,084 medals — about 2,600 for the Olympics and 2,400 for the Paralympics. That is likely more than will be required. Some will be stored in case that medals need to reassigned after the Games, which can happen when medal-winners are subsequently stripped of the prizes for doping. Some go to museums. Any other spares could be destroyed.
The gold medals weigh 529 grams and are not pure gold. They are made of silver and plated with 6 grams of gold.
The bronzes weigh 455 grams and are a copper, tin and zinc alloy.
The medals are 85 millimeters across and 9.2 millimeters thick.
They’ll come in a dark-blue box from Chaumet and a certificate from the Eiffel Tower Operating Co. that the iron pieces came from the monument. Paris organisers didn’t give a monetary value for the medals.
The 2028 Olympics will be hosted by Los Angeles. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium will be the main stadiums as LA plays host for the second time following the 1984 Games.