As Olympic and Paralympic Day approaches – which is celebrated every June 23rd – the Parisian city council presented on Monday the 13th all the sporting and cultural events that will be organized on this occasion.
Two years before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the Parisian city is committed to doing well and, above all, to leading by example. On the occasion of Olympic Day, June 23, has scheduled a great holiday weekend, where young and old can discover the sport while having fun.
“The opportunity to bring the atmosphere of the Olympics to life this summer,” said Pierre Rabadan, the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of sports, the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Seine, which promises “neighborhood parties “,” initiations to the Olympic Games “. sports ”or even“ a festive walk ”.
“This year, Olympic Day falls on a Thursday, a day when family and children are not available. That’s why we wanted to organize a program for several days, from the 22nd to the 26th of June “, says this former professional rugby player, who intends to take advantage of this opportunity” to look for an audience “sometimes far removed from the practice of sports.
13 places to get to know the Olympic sports
Thus, from Wednesday, June 22, young Parisians are invited to discover a number of Olympic and Paralympic disciplines “through recreational and sports courses or initiations (basketball, badminton, judo, triathlon, fencing, archery, Ping pong…).
To this end, 12 municipal gyms will be open mainly in the afternoon, as well as the courtyard of the Paris City Hall, which will be entirely dedicated to the practice of sports between 14.00 and 18.00 on Wednesday 22 June.
an entertainment weekend
An unprecedented event, a nautical base will be deployed in the Seine on Saturday, June 25, at the height of the Marie arm, “between the Nautes and the Henri IV tunnel,” explains Pierre Rabadan. Accessible to all, free of charge and without registration, kayaks, canoes and canoes will be made available to the general public, who will be able to learn about these water sports.
Grange-aux-Belles (10th), Saint-Maur (11th), Belleville-Saint-Michel (11th), Marx Dormoy (18th) will be held throughout the weekend in various popular Parisian places. There, the sports assistant promises “Sports Olympics”, aimed at “raising awareness” of the general public about “sports and cultural practices”.
Another highlight of the weekend: a 4 km walk between the Canal de Villette and the Stade de France in Saint-Denis (93), marked by sporting and cultural events. The start will be at around 1.30pm on Sunday 26 June, with the presence of Mayor Anne Hidalgo and some professional athletes.
THE “OLYMPIC FORMS FESTIVAL”
At the same time, the Parisian city council presented the program for its “Cultural Olympics”. Following a tender launched in March, 65 projects were finally selected, including 35 for the performing arts, 13 for the visual arts and 6 for music. That is, more than a hundred events are organized this summer in Paris.
Free events, open to everyone and often organized outdoors. Like the “cultural excursion” organized on Sunday, June 26, from the Carnavalet Museum in Paris to the Charléty Stadium, in search of “remarkable women who made history.”
Or even Point Éphémère’s summer program, called “Fail,” which will question the athlete’s relationship with failure from June 23 to September 11. On the program: “rooftop pool”, “dance film marathon” and “roller party for the national holiday” on July 14.
For Carine Rolland, the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of culture, the idea of this cultural Olympics – which will be called the “Festival of the Olympic Forms” – is to eliminate a number of prejudices that would suggest that the public in culture and those interested in sport would not be the same ”.
A way, according to the deputy, of “going to meet new audiences”, of “building bridges”, putting “the values of Olympism at heart”. The detailed program of the festival is now available on the dedicated website.