Global attention turns to Paris on Friday for the beginning of the 2024 Olympics.
But despite hosting 10,000 athletes competing in 329 medal events at the Summer Games, the city has seen the construction of only a few new sports facilities, including a swimming arena, a climbing wall venue and a gymnastics and badminton arena.
Aquatics Centre
Opened in May, the Aquatics Centre in the Saint-Denis neighborhood of Paris’ northern suburbs has a modular configuration, with the ability to switch from a 5,000-seat venue during the games to a 2,500 seats for other events in the future. The venue cost $190 million, according to NBC Los Angeles.
The center, built by Paris-based Bouygues Construction, will host artistic swimming, diving and water polo events this summer and will be open to the community after the Games.
Designed by Dutch architecture firm VenhoevenCS and the French firm Ateliers 2/3/4 with low-carbon features, the roof of the timber building is covered with photovoltaic panels, making it one of France’s largest urban solar farms and supplying all the energy the facility needs.
Porte de la Chapelle Arena
The Porte de la Chapelle Arena opened in central Paris on Feb. 11. The site for badminton and rhythmic gymnastics was the only new venue to be built in the middle of the city for the Games. The arena cost $150 million, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Designed by French architecture firms SCAU and NP2F, the arena has a capacity of 8,000 and will also host badminton and powerlifting at this year’s Paris Paralympic Games. It was also built by Bouygues Construction.
Le Bourget Sport Climbing venue
The open-air Le Bourget Sport Climbing venue, which will also be a permanent fixture after the Games are over, is located in the neighborhood of Seine-St. Denis. Designed to host competitions in the relatively new Olympic offering of sport climbing, the venue encompasses an indoor wall for warming up and four outdoor walls.
The sport made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 with a single men’s event and single women’s event. For the Paris Games, there will be two events per gender: a standalone speed event and a combined event for bouldering plus lead, according to NBC Sports.
The lack of major new construction in Paris is a departure from previous Olympics. In 2021, eight new permanent venues and 10 temporary facilities went up for the Tokyo Games, which had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.