Marking one month to go before the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on 26 July, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) launches “Sport. And More than Sport” – a new Olympic brand platform. It will debut with an uplifting short film that encapsulates the unique spirit and feeling of the Olympic Games, which will air globally across the Olympic Media Rights-Holder (MRH) network and Olympic digital platforms and will run throughout Paris 2024 and beyond.

“Sport. And More Than Sport” is a new brand platform for the Olympics that expresses the multi-dimensionality of the Olympic experience and everything sport and the Olympic Games bring to people both on and off the field of play. It embraces the magic of sport, but also sport’s meaning beyond performance – belonging and human connection, personal empowerment and growth, and opportunities and dreams. It aims to bring the Olympics close to the hearts and lives of people everywhere by celebrating the joy and entertainment of sport and the fan experience.

“Sport. And More Than Sport” launches with a short film , starting on the streets of Paris, where the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad will begin next month. It follows the Olympic spirit – represented by a magical, invisible force travelling around the world, connecting with people of all ages and backgrounds, and inspiring in them a wide range of emotions. It features Olympic legend Nadia Comaneci – the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score at an Olympic Games – together with everyday athletes, highlighting the universality of the Olympic spirit and its ability to touch the lives of all people.

Handball is represented in the Olympic Torch Relay

The Olympic Torch Relay takes place before every Olympic Games and is one of the great traditions of any Olympic Games, symbolising peace, unity and friendship between people.

The relay started its journey on 16 April when the Torch, designed by Mathieu Lehanneur who was inspired by three symbols of the upcoming Games: equality, water and peacefulness, was lit by the Olympic flame on the site of Ancient Olympia in Greece as a tribute to the Ancient Olympic Games.

An 11-day tour around Greece then followed before the Olympic flame was then transferred via ship for a journey across the Mediterranean from Athens to Marseille, for Stage 1 of the Paris 2024 Olympic Torch Relay which started on 9 May. 
Handball was involved as soon as the Torch arrived on French soil with an organised introduction to the sport on a court situated on the forecourt of Stade du Vélodrome in the southern French city.

On Friday 17 May, Stage 9 took place in Haute-Garonne (Toulouse) in south west France with legendary France coach Claude Onesta who coached the French men’s national team to gold at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games, involved along with Nodjialem Myaro, a double Olympian with the French women’s team (2000, 2004) and current President of the La Ligue Féminine de Handball (LFH).

7 June also saw French goalkeeper, Cleopatre Darleux, carry the torch in Bretagne and on Wednesday, 12 June, the legendary handball player Daniel Narcisse lit the celebration cauldron in his home city of Saint-Denis.

Teams get ready for Paris 2024

Handball will return for its 14th consecutive appearance at the Olympic Games, with reigning champions France will try to retain their crown in both the women’s and the men’s competitions on their home court.

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 Créteil, France, at the Maison du Handball – The House of Handball.

Teams have also started their training camps, after the 24 coaches took over and are now on the final straight before the start of the competition.

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.