Paris last hosted the Olympics exactly 100 years ago. The idea of organizing the World Games at that time was mainly to promote peace and bring the world together. Even after 100 years, the idea remains more or less the same, but excellence in sports has become more important now.
Paris is all set to host the Olympics after a long gap of 100 years. More than 10 thousand 500 players from all over the world will participate in these games to be held from July 26. The Olympic Games held in this city which is considered to be the capital of fashion will be unique and unconventional in every sense.
Three times more player participation than before
Paris last hosted the Olympics exactly 100 years ago. Only 3,000 athletes from 44 countries participated in the 1924 Games in Paris. But now the city will host around 19 thousand 500 athletes.
Most of the competition will be held at the old venue
New sports venues are usually built for events such as the Olympics. But what makes Paris unique is that the city itself has become a place. 95 percent of these games will be played at old or temporary venues. Instead of spending money on building new infrastructure for these games, the budget was used to improve existing infrastructure and create temporary venues around famous landmarks in the city, which would serve as impressive backdrops. The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics will be held on the river Seine.
The positive thing about these games is that these games are being made on a ‘circular economy’ model which means sharing, renting, refurbishing and recycling existing content as much as possible. Of the 35 competition venues, only two new arenas have been built and one of them, the Aquatics Centre, was built using wood to reduce carbon emissions. The Paris Olympics have made good use of scarce resources.
20 lakhs worth of sports equipment
Sports equipment used during the Games is estimated to be around 2 million, of which 1.5 million will be loaned or leased to sports federations. Computers and printers used during the games will also be rented out. Following the strategy of putting scarce resources to better use, the number of furniture items has also been brought down from approximately eight lakhs to six lakhs initially. Electric, hybrid and hydrogen-powered vehicles will be used, and the number has been reduced by 40 percent compared to the previous Olympics. Generators will also be powered by biofuel, hydrogen or batteries.
Gender equality at the Paris Olympics
For the first time, half of the 10,500 players will be women, a major step towards ensuring gender equality. In the last session in Tokyo, 47.8 percent of the total participants were female players. Until the Munich Olympics (1972), women’s participation was less than 20 percent. The traditional closing ceremony of the Paris Games will be the women’s marathon instead of the men’s, and there are 28 of the 32 games in the event that will feature both men and women.
