International | A golden opportunity

Paris could change how cities host the Olympics for good

The games will test the success of new solutions to old bugbears

The Olympic rings are seen on the Eiffel Tower in Paris with people in the foreground walking and taking photos.
Photograph: AP
|PARIS

THE OLYMPIC flame will illuminate the City of Light from July 26th, when the world’s greatest sporting spectacle gets under way in Paris. Although France still lacks a government after a snap national parliamentary vote in recent weeks, its capital will host the 33rd Olympiad in style. Dressage events will take place in the magnificent grounds of Versailles; volleyballs will whizz over nets by the Eiffel Tower. Organisers hope to show the best of France to visiting sports fans, business executives and foreign politicians. One of the thousands of volunteers involved describes “an infectious positive energy”.

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This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Changing the games”

From the July 27th 2024 edition

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