100 days to go until Paris 2024 Olympic Games start

17 Apr. 2024

100 days to go until Paris 2024 Olympic Games start

There are only 100 days left before the official start and the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and on the eve of this milestone the flame for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 has been lit. It was ignited at the historic birthplace of the Olympic Games in Ancient Olympia in Greece. 

The Olympic flame, embodying peace and hope, will now journey across Greece before coming to France. After arriving in Marseille on 8 May, it will travel across the entire country, and some French overseas territories, arriving at the Opening Ceremony in Paris on 26 July.

The lighting ceremony, held at the Temple of Hera, paid homage to the Olympic Games' Greek heritage, reinforcing the profound link between ancient traditions and the modern Games. The flame was kindled by the high priestess and, along with an olive branch symbolising peace, was passed to the first torchbearer.

Photo credit: IOC Media

This honour was given to Greek rower, Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist Stefanos Douskos, who then passed it on to Laure Manaudou, the first French torchbearer on Greek soil and an Olympic champion at Athens 2004. The flame will now travel onwards, first embarking upon an 11-day journey across Greece, during which the flame will be carried over 5,000 kilometres, through 43 municipalities.

Around 10,000 torchbearers will then carry the Olympic flame over the following 69 days. The route will take them through around 400 cities, across 65 regions in France, and includes visits to six overseas territories (Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, French Polynesia, Réunion and New Caledonia).

“The Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. The Olympic athletes send this powerful message: yes, it is possible to compete fiercely against each other and at the same time live peacefully together under one roof. The athletes will shine and show us what greatness humans are capable of with all their excellence, determination and resilience,” said the IOC President, Thomas Bach.

Handball joins the party for Paris 2024

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.

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

In the men’s competition, Group A looks already like a very well-balanced one, with five European teams, including former Olympic champions Croatia and Germany, as well as perennial contenders Spain and Sweden, with the latter two sides meeting in the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship bronze medal match.

Slovenia and Japan completed Group A, as the coach which qualified the Asian side, Dagur Sigurdsson, will now face his former side, after taking over Croatia men’s national team last February.

With Denmark, Norway, Hungary, Egypt and Argentina waiting in Group B, France chose this option, as the last two Olympic finals, at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, between the hosts and Denmark will now be re-enacted in the preliminary round.

For the women’s competition, Jerome Fernandez, a two-time Olympic champion, and the all-time top goal scorer of the France men’s national team, with 1463 goals scored in 390 matches, decided the fate of the 12 teams. 

In Group A, the three most decorated teams in the history of the Olympic Games – Denmark, Norway and the Republic of Korea – were drawn together, as the group was completed by Slovenia, Germany and Sweden, as all three Scandinavian sides were drawn in the same group.

“You have Norway and Denmark in Group A, and we hope to win Group B and I think if France were in Group A, it would have been a very unbalanced preliminary round. Therefore, we chose Group B,” said Olivier Krumbholz, France women’s national team coach.

In total, Group A boasts teams which won eight of the 12 Olympic titles in the history of the competition, with the women’s competition being introduced at Montreal 1976.

In Group B, France will face three teams which secured their tickets to Paris 2024 via the Olympic Qualification Tournaments – winners Netherlands and Hungary, plus the second-placed side in the Olympic Qualification Tournament #2, Spain.

The 2023 Pan American Games winners, Brazil, and the current African champions, Angola, which qualified via the African Handball Olympic Qualification Tournament, also headed to Group B.

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.