MAP: Where to find the free fan zones in Paris for the 2024 Olympics

The city of Paris has released plans for free fan zones, which are intended to allow everyone in the city to enjoy and participate in the celebration of the 2024 Olympic Games.

Published: 24 July 2023 16:37 CEST

MAP: Where to find the free fan zones in Paris for the 2024 Olympics

The entrance of the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympics (Cojo) headquarters (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)

If you were unable to get tickets for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, there will still be plenty of free opportunities to take part in the festivities.

The Paris deputy mayor in charge of sport, Pierre Rabadan, has announced that the city will offer 23 fan zones, with at least one in each of the city’s arrondissements (excluding the 7th, where the arrondissement mayor didn’t want one).

“Our goal is to make the event accessible to everyone, including those who did not get tickets to watch the competitions in person”, he told Le Parisien.

Graphic: Paris Olympic Organising Committee and Paris Town Hall

Several emblematic sites across the city will be turned into fan zones, including the Hôtel de Ville in the 4th arrondissement and the Quartier Jeunes just beside the Louvre Museum.

The annual Paris Plages will go ahead during the summer of 2024 as well, with the banks of the Seine and the Bassin de la Villette decorated for the Olympics and transformed into free fan zones.

Two of the sites – Trocadero and Parc de la Villette – will be run by the Olympic Organising Committe and the Club France (respectively). At Trocadero, the Champions Park will offer daily events for medallists to meet the public and the ‘Club France’ zone in the north of the city will be the centre for cheering on Team France and meeting French athletes.

Many of the remaining fan zones across the city will be held in local town halls or community centres, with some hosting special themes and offering other cultural activities aside from streaming the Games.

For instance, the 13th arrondissement will aim their programming toward families with children, while the mayor of the 15th arrondissement, Philippe Goujon, told Le Parisien they hoped to add games, like table tennis, into the mix.

“These venues will be open to all, and entirely free of charge. The average capacity will be around 500 people at any one time”, Rabadan said.

It is possible that other sites will be able to accompany larger crowds, but this will be determined at a later date by local law enforcement.

The fan zones will likely open July 25th or 26th (right before the Opening Ceremony) but this has not been confirmed yet. They are set to remain open until the end of the Paralympic Games.

Rabadan said that the city will make available a programme with details for each site in September.

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Once a preferred spot for gala premieres, the UGC Normandie was one of several grand cinemas on the Champs-Elysées that made the area a hub for film buffs in the 1960s and 70s.

But the street long ago lost its cool among Parisians, becoming increasingly dominated by flagship fashion stores and tourists taking snaps of the Arc de Triomphe.

The UGC cinema chain said it faced a “very sharp increase in rent” at the location, which is owned by the Qatari royal family.

Two other famed cinemas on the boulevard, the George V and Gaumont Marignan, have closed since 2020.

“The cinema is disappearing in somewhat terrible circumstances for the whole culture,” said a former employee, 22-year-old Yann Raffin, adding that he feels both “sadness” and “anger”.

“This avenue is transforming into an avenue reserved for the ultra-rich,” he told AFP.

The last screening on Wednesday night was “La La Land” with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, a fitting tribute to Hollywood musicals of a bygone era.

Its director, Damien Chazelle, appeared on screen with a special message for the sold-out crowd.

“This room was an extension of my own life, it was a friend and an ally,” said Mehdi Omais, 40, a film journalist, visibly moved.

“It’s heartbreaking to see it close and to see this avenue becoming a cemetery of cinemas.”

An auction of the chairs and decor was due on Thursday, including the huge letters on the outside, with proceeds going to a charity that organises screenings for hospitalised children.

Paris remains a film-going hotspot and still has more cinemas per head than anywhere in the world, with swanky new theatres opening elsewhere in the city.

They include a state-of-the-art Pathe cinema near the Opera Garnier, designed by architect Renzo Piano who created the Pompidou Centre and The Shard in London.