As part of its ambition to make the Olympic Games inclusive and accessible to all, the Organising Committee of Paris2024 Olympic Games has unveiled plans for a unique night marathon to be held on August 10, for which 48,048 runners would be selected.

With six months to go before the start of the Paris 2024 Games, the organising committee of the Olympic Games and Orange, the official sponsor of the Marathon Pour Tous or ‘Marathon for All’ has announced the details of this unique mass running event on August 10 that will feature 48,048 ordinary citizens from all spectrums of society and who will have the unique opportunity to embark on the same marathon trail as the Olympic marathon runners.

At a press conference held in Paris, Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris2024 Organising Committee said that the participants selected for the ‘Marathon For All’ will hail from all over France and some from abroad. ‘‘They have sweated for years, taking on the challenges of Club Paris 2024 on the Mass Event Running app, or participating in the challenges of Team Orange Running. They will have the opportunity to participate in the first sporting event open to the general public in the history of the Olympic Games,’’ Estanguet told the media.

The organisers add that the event will be an exceptional race in the heart of Paris which will start, from 21:00 for the 42 km and 23:30 for the 10 km, on the square in front of the Hôtel de Ville de Paris and finish on the Esplanade des Invalides. The ‘Marathon For All’ course will wind through some of the most beautiful sites and monuments of Paris and its regions. A spectacular 42.195 km race, with the backdrop of the Louvre Pyramid, the Grand Palais, the Palace of Versailles, the Eiffel Tower, and more, they said.

The runners would feature 24,024 women and the same number of men and the race would be accessible to all those who would be aged 16 or more on December 31, 2024.

The organisers say that the participants in the event will immerse themselves in a sporting, festive, and popular experience that will make a mark on the history of the Games. Participants will be left with a unique memory, thanks to many sound and light installations along the course, the presence of athletes and celebrities, enthusiastic supporters and encouragement zones with numerous activities, all to help inspire participants in the final stretch.

They add that the Marathon For All will also be a connected race of an unprecedented magnitude, turning it into an extraordinary experience. ‘‘Our ambition is to enable as many people as possible to join and participate in the event, allowing them to experience the event from anywhere in the world, even from the comfort of their own homes,’’ say the organisers.

Organised alongside the ‘Marathon For All’, the ‘Connected Marathon Pour Tous’ will kick off on August 10 at 08:00, coinciding with the start of the men’s Olympic marathon from the square in front of the Hôtel de Ville de Paris. From Sydney to Nairobi, passing through Colombia or Tahiti, all around the world, Paris 2024 will invite the general public to participate in this unique connected race to celebrate the Games and sports. Runners must run for at least 30 minutes for their participation to count.

A French technology company Kinomap has developed an app that will allow people from around the world to participate in the event from their mobile telephones, television sets or computers and tablets. Kinomap is an interactive training app for indoor cycling, rowing and running that enables individuals to find and share geolocated videos. The Kinomap platform is available in 15 languages, has over 600,000 km of geolocated routes and more than 40,000 training videos in over 195 countries worldwide.

 As part of its plans to expand the availability of the Marathon For All globally, Kinomap is also targetting India, says Philippe Moity, CEO of Kinomap. “We have already partnered with Indian telecom major Jio to make available Kinomap on Jio Store for people to download it to their Jio Set Top Boxes and enjoy the Marathon from anywhere in India,’’ Moity told India Outbound.

“We are also talking to other providers in India, and hopefully we will be able to expand our presence in India for which my team is already engaged in discussions with other stakeholders,’’ Moity added.