Paris' $10BN Olympic Games Makeover

Are you going to watch the 2024 Olympic Games? 🏅

What will make these Olympics great, is that they are using existing classic sites like Versailles and the Eiffel tower to host events! As long as the security is good, it should be a huge success !

I really love this appproach where they try to avoid excessive and decadent building projects to rot afterwards and instead try to make the city as a whole a better place. I hope the IOC becomes reasonable enough to allow this style of Olympics into the future.

The river cleanup is huge

The French invented the modern olympic games, the first event happened in Greece, the 2nd event in France, and it hasn't stopped since. 100 years after it happened in Paris, it comes back to Paris, this is a great thing. Many surprises this summer, I can't wait.

There's one big mistake though, or at least a confusion. The Grand Paris Express project wasn't meant for the Olympics, and it never was expected to be completed before the games. With the bid to organize the event, the Paris games committee proposed to use the first parts of the Grand Paris Express to be delivered. These parts only included line M14's extensions and the first section of M16/M17. Only the second part (M16/M17) of what was expected will be missing and they knew that for years, so they even decided to not rush the M16/M17 section and instead to focus on other things, while also relocating elsewhere some events that were supposed to be served by the missing section. In the meantime, other transit expansions will open between March and June, namely : 1) M11's Eastern extension (as part of GPE, just like M14's Northern and Southern extensions). 2) The first phase of RER E's Western extension up to Nanterre la Folie (just West of La Défense, only meters away from the huge arena) and 2 other major stations. 3) And tramway line T3b Western extension to Porte Dauphine and the Bois de Boulogne. That's about 34 kilometers of new extensions opening this spring, of which roughly 30km are in tunnels. Let's not forget the dozen of tramway lines that opened in the last decade or decade and a half, with 2 lines opening in 2023 alone. Plus a major renewal and capacity increase of the trains. Like the new MP14 trains of line M14 now having 8 cars instead of 6 and with a frequency of 42 or 44 trains per side per hour. New trains on M11, huge new RER NG trains on RER E... One of the main points of Paris 2024's bid was cycling. With a goal of total "cyclability" that includes thousands of additional "Vélib" station-based bikeshare bicycles, thousands of additional bicycles in free roaming by private operators and a bunch of additional temporary and itinerant "Vélib" base stations. They expect at least 10% of the events' public to ride bikes and other forms of soft mobility. As for the transit ridership, you have to keep in mind a very French and Parisian specificity : French people tend to take major holidays in droves. Especially in Paris where the city sees a substantial drop in local population and transit ridership during the summer. The apex being in August when the city feels empty and you could almost see tumbleweeds on the platforms of certain lines. 😂 So, for the Olympics, authorities have set the transit system to super peak mode instead of the usual much lighter summer service pattern. As an example, on a normal weekday during the year the RER line A carries up to 1.5 million passengers, and the B line a little less. But during the summer, they often see their ridership reduced to a quarter or less of that. That's plenty of capacity for Olympic visitors to use! Which will be spread over far wider time-frames, contrary to usual working weekdays where ridership is more concentrated on 2 two intense peak periods, the morning and evening rush. Just picture the reinforced super-peak operations but all day long, it should be able to cope with the Olympic crowds. The only real question is how the organization committee will spread the "human flow" (600k as of today) for the opening ceremony and if they'll assign specific schedules, and metro and walking paths to spectators according to their tribune or zone location. It's a bit unclear in the video but the entire opening ceremony will take place on the Seine river along a 6 or 7 kilometer stretch, with spectators on the lower and higher banks and the bridges. The Paralympic opening ceremony will take place on the Trocadero gardens or Concorde, I can't remember.

Using existing sites and facilities, coupled with temporary venues looks like a good idea regardless of the revenue savings. Some cities (such as Montreal here in Canada) sometimes wind up with outsized venues they don't or can't use. Sometimes these sites are not finished in time for the Olympics and wind up never really getting completed. One of the reasons the Olympic committee is finding it harder and harder to find cities that will host The Olympics.

Dude horseback riding in the gardens of Versailles made me dreaming to be a rider 😢😢

France is playing this smart. I hope it's successful for them. Paris is amazing!

Paris is magnificent. I'm sure they will put on an excellent Olympics.

As a French and there are not many I the comments, the biggest issue for our governments is to change people minds because many are against the OG and believe it will be a disaster. And this negativity doesn't help to plan such a big event. There is so much communication done right now to excite people for the OG. I myself believe it's gonna be very nice on TV and that's what will touch most people around the world, and make the most profitable gains for France.

Paros hit a home run with these plans. It is going to be spectacular. Vive la France!!

We were in Paris in August, 2023, and we didn't see anything resembling construction around the area of the Seine, Notre Dame, Alexander Bridge, I was surprised that the Olympics were going to be there 11 months later. We had a picnic along the Seine right by the Alexander Bridge and it was a sesspool, so I hope they can pull it off!! BTW, we had a wonderful time in the City of Lights, cant wait to go back!!

As a French person I am scared of public transport during the summer since I have an internship planned

I think it's really exciting that many sports will take place outside or in the middle of Paris. Paris is known for its creativity! It's going to be great! I'm excited. 🥇 🥈 🥉

Ah man, this made me realize my view of time is all weird still with covid throwing off the 2020 Olympics. Hopefully they clean the city and have secure accommodation! And likewise I really hope the visitors will be respectful and not cause any problems…

Would love to see a car-free Paris for the Olympics. Lots of walking and biking in the beautiful summer heat, and a non-stop stream of buses would be greatly efficient with no personal use cars in the way on the roads!

Love the info and a visual reminder that the narrator/writer is human.

I have been to Paris. The rush hour is brutal. I have to wait six trains to hop on. And the river for swimming competition, I won’t be surprised in ten years that something strange growing on their backs.

Crazy to see the americans reaction when talking about Tahiti. Yes Tahiti is France, like Hawaii is usa