France will be the ultimate Sporting Arena in 2024 with the Paris Olympics from Friday, July 26, 2024 to Sunday, August 11, and a few weeks later, the Paralympics Games which will be held, Wednesday, August 28 to Sunday, September 8, 2024. For the first time, the opening ceremony won’t take place in a stadium but rather in the heart of Paris along the Seine River.

The objective is to cut by half the carbon footprint of the Olympics. 95% of the games will take place in existing sports venues or in heritage sites throughout the Greater Paris Region and other parts of France. Think skateboarding in Place de la Concorde or beach volleyball at the Champs de Mars at the foot of the Eiffel Tower and equestrian events at the Château de Versailles.

Plus, the upcoming Olympics will introduce a totally new discipline: breaking. It will complement the previous game’s inclusion of sport climbing, skateboarding, and surfing, which for France will take place on one of the beautiful Tahitian islands of French Polynesia.

Be sure to follow the festive Olympic torch relay. The torch will arrive May 8 in Marseille from Greece aboard the tall ship Le Belem, for a 68-day whirlwind tour in mainland France and its overseas regions.

For a comprehensive press kit on the Paris 2024 Olympics & Paralympics Games, plus what do see and do while you’re there, see below