Despite the men’s and women’s Handball competitions at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games completing earlier this month, the event is set to have a long-lasting effect on players in France.

Club side Le Lille Métropole Handball Club Villeneuve d'Ascq (LM-HBCV) based in the city of Villeneuve d'Ascq, in the Hauts-de-France region, will receive one of the floors used during the preparation phase of Paris 2024 Basketball and Handball teams in Lille after it was donated to them by the Hauts-de-France Handball League. 

The donation forms part of the full legacy programme of the Games which saw any Handball equipment bought by Paris 2024 distributed to local handball clubs in agreement with the French Handball Federation (FFHB) post-Games.

Regional federations in the two Paris 2024 Olympic Games Handball venues – Paris and Lille – invited plans from clubs explaining how the equipment would benefit them, and their plans for developing the sport, thus ensuring it would go to best use.

The wooden floor in question was used in the Pierre-Mazeaud Hall in Marcq-en-Baroeul and it will now be transported the short distance of just over 6km to the Marcel Cerdan Hall, where LM-HBCV train in Villeneuve d'Ascq. Some work is required to adapt it for use, but it set to be ready in September, saving the city an estimated 100,000 Euros.

“It's Christmas before Christmas,” said Philippe Delecourt, President of LM-HBCV, to local media after the announcement was made. “Until now, we were playing on a very old floor, about 15 years old, so the arrival of this floor is a real renewal for the club, the start of a new life.

“It is a beautiful symbol and a great source of pride to receive this floor, because these Paris 2024 Olympic Games were a success, a historic, magical moment, with great fervour shared by all the inhabitants of the Lille metropolis. Great players have walked on this floor and, even ecologically, it makes sense to recycle it.”

The Pierry Mauroy Stadium in Lille hosted both Basketball and Handball at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and has already returned to its normal use – that of the home of football club LOSC Lille, who played their last weekend. The other Paris 2024 Olympic Games venue – the South Paris Arena 6  will continue to be used as one of Europe’s leading exhibition centres.

An historic legacy – Handball venues at the Olympic Games

Going all the way back to when modern-day Handball made its Olympic Games debut – at Munich 1972 in Germany – arenas which hosted Handball at every summer Olympic Games since continue to be in use for a variety of events, including Handball.

The ‘Olympiahalle’ in Munich has undergone improvements and featured a number of Handball events since 1972, including games of the 2019 IHF Men’s World Championship and Men’s EHF EURO 2024 amongst others.

All three venues used for the 1976 Montreal Olympic Handball tournaments are still in use today https://olympics.com/ioc/news/montreal-1976-venues-overview as are both used at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games – the Titan Gym and Forum (now called the ‘Kia Forum’ for sponsorship reasons). One of the two venues from Moscow 1980 is still in use too (the Dynamo Palace of Sports in Moscow).

Both arenas used for Handball at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games are in use too, including the Suwon Gymnasium – which hosted Handball games at the 2014 Asian Games – and the Seoul Olympic Gymnastics Arena.
 
Barcelona 1992 also used two arenas for their Olympic Games Handball competitions with Granollers hosting the club of the same name and the same venue being used for both the 2013 IHF Men’s World Championship and 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship.  The Palau Saint Jordi was also a 2013 world championship venue, hosting the final and will host games of the upcoming Men’s EHF EURO 2028.

Moving to Atlanta 1996, the Georgia World Congress Center is one of the two venues still being used and ‘continues to be one of the nation's premier destinations for conventions, trade shows and film production’ according to its website. Sydney 2000’s ‘The Dome and Exhibition Complex’ is still in use in 2024.

Athens 2004 Faliro Sports Pavilion Arena, which hosted preliminary group games, is still in use in Greece, while the National Indoor Stadium, used for Beijing 2008, hosted events at both the 2022 Winter Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and continues to be used for a variety of events.

One of the two London 2012 venues – originally called the ‘Handball Arena’ but now called the ‘Copper Box’ – is situated in the Olympic Park and in regular use as a community sports centre as well as hosting big sporting events and concerts. The finals arena – which originally held basketball – was built as a temporary structure and taken down shortly after the completion of the Games.

The Rio 2016 handball venue was called the ‘Arena do Futuro’ (Arena of the Future) and saw Denmark’s men and Russia’s women win handball gold in the 12,000-capacity arena eight years ago.

The arena – which also hosted goalball for the Paralympic Games – was a trailblazer, constructed using a concept known as ‘nomadic architecture’, which saw the building eventually repurposed into four schools.

In addition, the Carioca 1 Arena in the Olympic Park is available for handball use, and large amounts of handball sporting equipment used at the 2016 Rio Games was donated to the Brazilian Handball Confederation.

After being used at the 1964 Olympic Games, the Yoyogi National Gymnasium was used for the Handball competitions of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and continues to be used as an entertainment venue, hosting Japanese idol group Girls² earlier this year amongst other acts.