Paris 2024 Olympics: Why some sports have started before the opening ceremony
With the 2024 Paris Olympics right around the corner, fans will have marked 26th July in their calendars as the date that the much-awaited opening ceremony is scheduled for. However, eagle-eyed fans will have noted that the events actually kick off from July 24, starting with Argentina vs Morocco in Group B and Spain vs Uzbekistan in Group C of men’s football.
Football, archery, handball and rugby sevens begin on July 24 and 25. There are different reasons for these sports beginning before the opening ceremony.
Paris Olympics, July 24 Live Updates
Football has a historical reason, having started before the opening ceremony at every Olympic Games since 1992. According to Benjamin Ceugnart, Competitions Calendar Project Manager for Paris 2024, this is done in order to ensure that players have enough recovery period between matches. The opening round of fixtures takes place on July 24 for men’s football, and on July 25 for women’s football.
Rugby sevens and handball start before the first day for the first time. Ceugnart said that the decision has been taken in order to make organisation more fluid and as the sports will be sharing their venues with athletics and weightlifting respectively. In order to ensure that the venue can shift from one event to the other, both events have been scheduled to begin before the opening ceremony. Men’s rugby sevens kicked off with Australia beating Samoa in Group B on 24th July, while women’s handball will get underway on 25th July between Slovenia and Denmark.
Meanwhile, archery, which will be India’s first event at Paris 2024, starts on July 25 as the venue, Invalides, is located next to the River Seine where the opening ceremony is being conducted.