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.](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240727_IRP001.jpg)
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”.
Explore more
This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Changing the games”
More from International
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240907_IRD001.jpg)
How encrypted messaging apps conquered the world
And why governments want to wrest back control
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240831_IRP001.jpg)
The poisonous global politics of water
Polarisation makes it harder to adapt to climate change
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240824_IRP001.jpg)
Indian tourists are conquering the world
A booming middle class, budget flights and Bollywood
Can Donald Trump’s Iron Dome plan keep America safe?
In a dangerous world, cutting-edge missile defence is all the rage
Why the war on childhood obesity is failing
Sugar taxes and obesity drugs will not be enough
Could America fight its enemies without breaking the law?
The speed and intensity of prospective conflicts could test the laws of war