Story By: Erin Zollars
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Paris, France–
For those who experienced their first Summer Olympic games, Paris 2024 was magical in so many ways. While it took quite a few of us some time to get here, once we did, the last 10 days was nothing short of amazing and it makes it all the more fun to want to see what Los Angeles has to offer in 2028.
The buzz around the city at all hours of the day was nothing like we have seen anytime recently in the United States. From the extensive police presence to the cleanliness of the city and those ones away from Paris like Lillie, made it welcoming for fans from all over the globe.
Our first trip took us over to Lille to see the USA Womens Basketball take on Belgium and while this wasn’t our favorite part of the trip, the game made up for all the extra effort to get to the venue from downtown Paris. They might have been better off doing all of the games at Bercy Arena, as they did in the final games over the past three days.
A total of 1,078,319 fans attended the Women’s and Men’s Olympic Basketball Tournaments Paris 2024, shattering the previous record of 1,068,032 spectators set at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, where the Final Phase was held in the expansive Super Dome with a capacity of over 30,000.
Perhaps the two final games of the Men’s and Womens Games against France were exactly what people wanted to see. With two Gold’s for the USA Teams, this couldn’t have been a better finish for both teams and another perfect finish for the women’s teams and now 4 gold medals for Kevin Durant of Team USA.
Perhaps our favorite of the games came from the Beach Volleyball events. The 12,800 fans packed into a temporary stadium each series made this a fan favorite. The backdrop for the Eiffel Tower made this one of the best places to be in Paris during the games.
We saw quite a few people lining the streets for the Womens’ Road Cycling and the Marathon. This made it a bit difficult to get around the city, but those Lime Bikes sure did come in handy when it came from going to one side of the city to the next.
Another favorite was a visit to the Team USA House. Tons of activations, great food and chances to meet players as the strolled in and out during the games.
We will dive into the food and hotels and accommodations with another feature down the road. For now, let’s all relive one of the craziest opening ceremonies to medal controversy in gymnastics for Team USA and conditions of pollution in the Seine River forcing the delay of the triathlon.
Overall, we grade this experience an A- and think France came well prepared to showcase Paris how they wanted everyone to see it outside of just sports.
