Ever since France was officially awarded the organisation of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris on September 13, 2017, Tony Estanguet, President of the Organising Committee (COJOP), has been fond of repeating the maxim he’s made his own: “The Games in the city.” It has to be said that the promoters of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games never hesitated to place most of the competition venues close to iconic sites in the French capital.

For example, BMX freestyle, 3×3 basketball, breakdance and skateboarding will be held at La Concorde, while beach volleyball will take place in a huge stadium built a few metres under the Eiffel Tower, fencing and taekwondo at the Grand Palais and archery at Les Invalides. For the triathlon, para-triathlon, open water swimming and road cycling time trials, the Pont Alexandre III will provide the perfect backdrop. “It’s right in the centre of the city, surrounded by some of the most beautiful sites in Paris: the Eiffel Tower, the Grand Palais, La Concorde and the Esplanade des Invalides, Louis Comolli, Event Manager for the road events, explains. It’s like an Olympic park, of which this site is a part, right in the heart of Paris.”