The legacy of the 2024 Paris Games, a message for eternity

Sport, forever and always

While Paris spent the summer transformed into an international sporting showcase; Paris 2024 harboured other long-term goals in parallel. Making physical exercise as widely accessible as possible is one of them. The aim was to give all French people the chance to become athletes – or at the very least sportspeople! Among the measures introduced, the Government promised a nationwide policy setting down a compulsory minimum of 30 minutes of physical exercise per day in all primary schools, following on from the installation of 5,000 items of sports infrastructure for the entire population in the country’s housing districts. 

To go along with exercise on dry land, Paris 2024 took the plunge. The construction of 275 swimming pools in areas without water sports, and the programme “1, 2, 3, Nagez!” - free swimming lessons delivered to more than 36,000 children in France (including 9,400 in the Seine-Saint-Denis department) - were designed both to promote water safety and possibly scout the next Léon Marchand. 

And to cultivate minds and recreational sport among youngsters, Paris 2024 put together eight editions of Olympic and Paralympic Weeks, and the Terre de Jeux programme which has already prompted the organisation of 50,000 sports-related events by 4,500 towns and regions during the Games. 

Gold medal for inclusion 

With the endowment fund “Impact 2024”, the Olympic Committee set aside 47 million euros to support local initiatives that use sport to improve the living conditions of women and minorities in a move to promote projects in the public interest. 

And on the subject of women, the operation Paris Sportives rose to the challenge of breaking down the symbolic barrier between female and male sport by offering women in the capital the chance to take part in traditionally male disciplines, free of charge. Separately, Demain avec Elles continues, even after the Games, to see to it that young French women can partake in the sport of their choice freely. 

But Paris 2024 has not forgotten our elders, who can now stay active with ease thanks to Sport Senior en Plein Air. This support to elderly people also ties in with a policy assisting people with reduced mobility through the construction of 3 000 “para-friendly” clubs that will guarantee access to sports facilities to everyone. And to act even more in favour of integration, the Kabubu charity organises sports tournaments at which residents and refugees can play together and share more than just sport. 

Sport is (economically) healthy

As we have seen, when it comes to looking after the physical and mental health of Paris region inhabitants, Paris 2024 has a game plan. But will the benefits seen in sport also play out in the economic arena? These Games may have resulted in a shower of medals for France, but has France really struck gold? According to pre-Games estimates from the Centre de droit et d'économie du sport (CDES), the economic activity of the 2024 Paris Games in the Paris metropolitan region should generate 8.9 billion euros.

This fallout is not just economic in nature: 

• Among the 181,100 people employed by Paris 2024, 30,000 acquired new skills that will be useful for their professional future, thus improving their career prospects.
• 88% of the Paris 2024 suppliers are small or medium sized French companies. A bright future therefore lies ahead for the organisations that contributed to the past few months, who can be confident in healthy economic prospects.

Architectural heritage with an Olympic glaze 

Sport, inclusion and the economy are all integral parts of the Paris 2024 legacy programmes. But the cornerstone of it all are the constructions and architectural renovations conducted by SOLIDEO for Paris and the Paris region. 

To start with, Seine-Saint-Denis is the big winner of the 2024 Paris Games: as the beating heart of Paris 2024, the home of the Athletes Village will see the buildings converted into a new residential district, comprising of leisure, retail, community and educational facilities, along with 2,800 flats including 25% as social housing, which will accommodate 6,000 future inhabitants.

The Aquatics Centre, meanwhile, will be converted into a multi-sport centre including fitness facilities, a climbing wall and a skatepark. Finally, in Élancourt, home to the mountain bike races, the hill used by the cyclists in their pursuit of gold will become a sports park open to all.

Beyond the enhancement of the suburbs of the City of Light, Paris 2024 was also a catalyst for the clean-up of the River Seine, which will become swimmable for all the people of Paris in 2025. Finally, it has been mooted that several items of infrastructure specific to Paris 2024 might stay on after 2024. So what would your choice be: a dive into the Seine in front of the Eiffel Tower adorned with its Olympic rings, or a stroll around the 18th arrondissement to admire the “sorority” statues, with a breath-taking view of the cauldron in the Tuileries below? 

The past of the Games for a radiant future 

With climate issues ever more present in our minds, the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games must reinvent themselves. By drawing inspiration from the models of the past and innovating in the areas of inclusion and in the city centre organisation of sporting events and the ceremony, Paris 2024 has not merely set a new standard for its own Games: it has raised the bare for future sporting events. In collaboration with the International Olympic Committee and other international bodies, the City has decided to update, introduce and implement environmental responsibility standards for event management.

By displaying peerless audacity and expertise, the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games exceeded all expectations. Thanks to a measured legacy plan, the 2024 Paris Games fully intend to guarantee a bright economic, cultural and social future, not only for the French capital but for the entire country, that the world is not likely to forget anytime soon.  

But where does Viparis stand in all that? This is what we will be looking back on in the last issue of our newsletter Destination Paris. Get ready for an exciting read and exclusive revelations! [and sign up for our newsletter!]