France is getting ready for a bumper year of tourism and sport in 2024 with a number of new and exciting openings, exhibitions, sustainable tourism initiatives, and major anniversaries on the calendar. The country is also in the final preparation stages of hosting its biggest ever event, the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. Here we take a look at the sporting highlights in France in 2024.
SPOT24: new urban sport and culture hub with Olympic exhibition
Paris, Île-de-France: until 31 December 2024
Paris je t’aime (the Paris Tourist Office) has set up a new hybrid venue showcasing urban sport, culture and Olympism. Serving as a tourist information point, Olympics ticket office and official shop, alongside a café dedicated to Parisian products, SPOT24 also comprises an immersive Olympic exhibition. Co-presented by the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, it highlights the six newest Olympic disciplines: skateboarding, sport climbing, BMX freestyle, surfing, 3X3 basketball and breaking. A full programme of cultural activities and introductory sports sessions accompanies the exhibition, running throughout 2024.
Paris 2024 Olympic Flame to arrive in Marseille
Marseille, Région Sud: 8 May 2024
The Olympic Flame will first be lit in Olympia on 16 April 2024, in accordance with ancient tradition. After a 12-day relay through Greece and a crossing of the Mediterranean aboard the famous three-masted ship, the Belem, it will officially arrive into the port of Marseille on 8 May, heralding the return of the Games to France after a 100-year wait. In Marseille, the Flame will pass through two emblematic sites: the new Roucas Blanc’s Marina – starting point for the solo dinghies, windsurfers and formula kites – and the Vélodrome Stadium.
2024 French Open, Roland Garros
Paris, Île-de-France: 20 May-9 June
The 2024 French Open, the second tennis grand slam of the year, will take place from 20 May to 9 June 2024 at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. Played on Roland Garros’s iconic clay courts, the world’s best tennis players will feature including defending champions Novak Djokovic and Iga Świątek.
Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Paris, Île-de-France: 26 July-11 August and 28 August-8 September
Set to take place exactly 100 years after France’s last summer games, Paris 2024 will be the largest event ever organised in the country and unlike any other games in history in its eco-conscious approach, encouraging energy conservation, innovation and creativity. The event will use 100% renewable energy, track its carbon footprint and make use of 95% of existing venues, such as Versailles for equestrian events and the Champ de Mars (beneath the Eiffel Tower) for beach volleyball. It promises to be an inclusive, interactive and sustainable celebration of sport: the first fully gender-balanced and carbon-neutral Games.
50th Paris Judo Grand Slam
Paris, Île-de-France: 2-4 February 2024
The Paris Grand Slam is the most important international tournament for professional judokas, who fight it out on the tatami mats of Paris’ Accor Arena in front of more than 24,000 spectators. Held just a few months before the Paris 2024 Games, this 50th edition of the tournament will be an opportunity for the judokas to score the final points in their bids to secure a place in the Games.
4th ‘Nature is Bike’: Gravel and Adventure Cycling Festival
Angers, Pays de la Loire: 16-18 June 2024
France’s first nature-focused gravel bike festival returns to Angers in 2024 for its fourth year. Nature is Bike was born from the desire to promote the practice of gravel biking around a festival dedicated to the outdoors and living well. The next event will see new routes and rides, a Bike Show featuring leading brands and hottest cycling destinations, and a gravel forum. Enjoy food and drink, live music and activities in and around Angers, which sits at the crossroads of three major cycle routes that are enjoyed by 200,000 cyclists and cycle tourists every year.
A new finish for the Tour De France
Nice, Région Sud: 21 July 2024
For the first time in Le Tour’s history, the Grand Boucle will finish outside of Paris in order to avoid the preparations for the Olympic and Paralympic Games a week later. After a race through Burgundy, the Massif Central, the Pyrenees and the Alps, a mountainous course from Nice to Col de la Couillole has been designed for the 20th stage (20 July). The 21st and final stage will be contested in a 35km time trial on 21 July between Monaco and Place Masséna in Nice.
Ironman Women’s World Championship
Nice, Région Sud: 18-24 September 2024
In autumn 2024, the global stage will be set for the pinnacle of women’s professional and age group triathlon racing. Elite athletes from around the world will be united for a 140.6-mile journey that spans an ocean swim, a technical hinterland bike course and a vibrant coastal run in Nice. Entry is by qualification only – and athletes will have France’s most iconic triathlon community fuelling their spirits towards the Championship finish line.
10th Vendée Globe Solo Sailing Race
Les Sables-d’Olonne, Pays de la Loire: 10 November 2024
Nicknamed the “Everest of the Seas”, the Vendée Globe is the toughest solo sailing race in the world – a 24,000- mile circumnavigation of the world, without stops or assistance. It takes place every four years – the 2020 race was won by Frenchman Yannick Bestaven. Five British skippers are campaigning to be on the 2024 start line on 10 November, with the fleet expected to return to Les Sables-d’Olonne in January 2025. The new Hotel Vertime will be opening in Les Sables in 2024, in time to accommodate race-going visitors.
Sporting events and highlights in France in 2024
- 13-25 January 2024: 20th Grande Odyssée Vvf Dog Sled Competition; Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
- 2-4 February 2024: Paris Grand Slam Judo 2024; Paris, Île-De-France
- Spring 2024: Opening of La Régalante Cycle Route; Pays De La Loire, Brittany and Normandy
- 20 May-9 June 2024: French Open Roland Garros; Paris, Île-de-France:
- 16-18 June 2024: 4th ‘Nature Is Bike’: Gravel and Adventure Cycling Festival; Angers, Pays De La Loire
- 21 July 2024: A new finish for the Tour De France in 2024; Nice, Région Sud
- Summer 2024: Paris 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games; Paris, Île-De-France and Marseille, Région Sud
- 18-24 September 2024: Ironman Women’s World Championship; Nice, Région Sud
- 10 November 2024: 10th Vendée Globe Solo Sailing Race; Les Sables-d’Olonne, Pays de la Loire
Image: Atout France