An exterior view of Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Village Restaurant GETTY IMAGES

The Opening Ceremony is not until Friday, but this Wednesday the competitions begin. Many athletes are arriving in Paris. The meetings in the village are another attraction. The big stars of many sports are getting to know each other and sharing moments before they try to achieve glory.

The calendar determines the presence of athletes in an Olympic Village. If their competition is at the end of the Games, they may not be at the opening of the athlete accommodation and may not be at the opening ceremony. The dynamics of training is also important in setting the timing of travel to the Games venue.



Some 10,500 athletes will compete in Paris 2024. And more than 4,000 at the Paralympics. Not all of them are media stars. There are stars known all over the world and others not so well known. It is common that in the first few days there are athletes with less media attention who take the opportunity to get a selfie.

Imagine you are living your great sporting dream, you are at the Olympic Games, you take a walk after dinner and you bump into Diana Taurasi or Rafael Nadal. That is also an unforgettable experience.



Those who have had to arrive for early starts are the football, 7-a-side rugby, handball and archery athletes. They start even before the opening ceremony. Most of the sports start on Saturday 27, which will prevent some athletes from fully enjoying Friday night.

The venue for the Paris 2024 athletes is in the Saint-Denis area. It is close to the Stade de France, which is the Olympic stadium. It is usually the stadium where France's rugby and football teams play their matches.



The Olympic Village is not only for sleeping. It is also a leisure and training area, it has an anti-doping centre and a culinary variety that is highly valued by sportsmen and women. It is a very quick way to get to know other cultures.

The athletes who arrive emphasise that it is a very spacious area. They say they are very well looked after. The Olympic Village is making progress on environmental issues. For example, with electric cars to transport athletes. Paris took note of what it saw in Tokyo 2020.

Laura Ludwig and Patrick Hausding of Team Germany, at the Olympic Village of Tokyo. GETTY IMAGES
Laura Ludwig and Patrick Hausding of Team Germany, at the Olympic Village of Tokyo. GETTY IMAGES

Three years after the last Summer Olympics, there is one important detail: no masks. The Tokyo Games were postponed for a year because of the impact of the pandemic, and when they were held there were still restrictions in place. Paris 2024 will be a more normal Games.