The Paris 2024 Olympic Games’ Opening Ceremony is only one week away and it will be certain to blow everyone’s minds.

Beyond the crowds and the competition, Paris 2024 is set to be a once-in-a-lifetime event. These Games take place 100 years after the last Olympics in France and, this year’s showcase begins with an Opening Ceremony that will go down in the history books, as boats filled with Olympians parade down the Seine river.

Three handball players are currently slated to be their country’s flagbearers so far, with other participating countries still having to announce their choices. Denmark’s Niklas Landin, Angola’s Azenaide Carlos and Hungary’s  Blanka Böde-Bíró will be the ones to have the honour to carry their flag at the Opening Ceremony in Paris.

The wait is almost over now, as the handball competitions at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games begin in only six days,  with 24 teams, 12 men’s and 12 women’s.

The handball competitions at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which will see 12 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams compete for the coveted gold medals, will start on 25 July and will take place in the South Paris Arena 6 for the preliminary round and the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille for the knockout phase of the two competitions.

"The venues are not only breathtaking; they are of the highest standard. You feel how the enthusiasm in France is growing, and I hope you have the same feeling," said the IOC President, Thomas Bach.

Tuesday, 16 April, the draw for the preliminary round of the handball competition took place in Créteil, France, at the Maison du Handball – The House of Handball.

Handball at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will start on 25 July, with the women’s competition, as the men’s competition is due to start two days later, on 27 July. The groups will be played in the South Paris Arena 6, while the knockout phase is hosted by the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille.

The women’s gold medal match will take place on Saturday, 10 August, at 15:00 CEST, while the men’s gold medal match is scheduled one day later, Sunday, 11 August, at 13:30 CEST.

The teams have already entered their final preparations, with several friendly matches between the 24 sides being played over the last few weeks.

Olympic Village opens its gates

Athletes from around the world have begun arriving at their “home away from home” for the Olympic Games Paris 2024, as the Olympic Village officially opened its doors in the French capital on Thursday, 18 July.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach welcomed some of the early arrivals.

“Finally, we are here. It has been a long journey these seven years, but it has been a hugely rewarding one thanks to our friends at the Organising Committee under the leadership of Tony Estanguet and his team, who have worked closely with our IOC Coordination Commission under the leadership of Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant. We have a wonderful Olympic Village, and all the ingredients for a great Olympic Games are here,” said the IOC President, Thomas Bach.