With under 500 days to go before the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the organisers have finalised the testing schedules for the two Games, to try and iron out any wrinkles in the organisation of the actual games next year.

Preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games have been stepped up with less than 500 days to go before the main sporting action begins. According to a press statement, the testing schedule for both the Games has been finalised, with the launch of the testing programme this summer at several of its venues due to host next year’s Olympic and Paralympic competitions.

The Organising Committee says that while not intended to be an exact replica of the Games competitions, the tests are designed to ensure that Paris 2024 and all stakeholders involved in organising the Games are ready by summer 2024, when the eyes of the world will be fixed on France. They will enable the organisers to identify and carry out any modifications that may be necessary to make sure the Games run as smoothly as possible.

The testing programme will be held over the 12 months leading up to the Games, culminating with an athletics and Para athletics operational tests at the Stade de France in June 2024. The first Paris 2024 test event will take place from July 9 to 16 this year in Marseille, when the city’s marina will host a major international sailing competition.

The statement adds that the Paris 2024 testing programme has been carefully put together in accordance with the specific requirements of each sport and the different Olympic and Paralympic competition venues, in close cooperation with the relevant International Federations. Venues with a strong hosting record will therefore only be tested from an operational point of view. For example, for the Roland-Garros Stadium, whose expertise in organising international tennis competitions is universally acknowledged, will be tested just for its transition from tennis to boxing on the Philippe-Chatrier court.

The testing programme has also been planned in a responsible way. For example, where a major event on the 2023/24 international sporting calendar is being held at a Games competition venue, this has been incorporated into the testing programme. This will enable Paris 2024 to carry out various tests without holding additional events at these venues. The World Rowing Junior Championships, for example, will be organised by the French Rowing Federation at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium from August 2 to 6 this year. Paris 2024 will test its venue operations, especially the timekeeping and scoreboard systems, during this event.

The organisers say that Paris 2024 stakeholders will be involved in the testing programme so they can prepare for situations similar to those that they will experience during the Games. In August 2023, Paris city centre will simultaneously host a stage of the Archery World Cup on August 19 and 20 and an international triathlon and para triathlon competition, offering a brief but intense taste of what will occur at the same location a year later.

These tests will cover the floating triathlon pontoon and other complex structures, the cycling and running courses for the triathlon and para triathlon events and, finally, traffic and crowd management in and around the venues.

The organisers adds that in order to meet the needs identified by Paris 2024, three types of tests have been defined. Test events organised by Paris 2024 are international-standard competitions created in order to meet a specific need for knowledge linked to certain sports or venues. The sailing test event at the Marseille Marina will bring together the world’s best sailors, who will compete in all the events in the Games programme, enabling Paris 2024 to test the sporting, medical and technological systems at the competition venue.

Paris 2024 will also organise three other events in the run-up to the Olympic Games: an international triathlon and para triathlon competition from August 17 to 20, 2023 that will follow the same course on the Seine and the streets of Paris that will be used at the Games, an international mountain bike competition in Elancourt on September 24, 2023 and an international hockey competition at the Yves du Manoir Stadium from May 3 to 5, 2024, which is yet to be confirmed.

The statement adds that events organised by National or International Sports Federations or other third parties will enable Paris 2024 to test certain operations at events organised by other entities. The result of close collaboration with the National and International Federations concerned will also enable the public to discover the Games venues as they play host to international competitions. From October 5 to 8, for example, the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium will stage the finals of the Canoe Slalom World Cup, giving Paris 2024 the chance to test the sporting and technical operations of the course, as well as the new event on the Paris 2024 programme, Extreme Canoe Slalom.

Finally, operational tests are ‘targeted’ tests organised by Paris 2024 and include specific tests held behind closed doors or with a small number of invited athletes. They are designed to make sure a particular venue is functioning correctly or to test the transition between different sports at the same venue. This type of test will be conducted at several venues, such as the Grand Palais, covering the glass roof to test the impact on the competition area and testing the transition between fencing and taekwondo, and the Bercy Arena for testing the transition between gymnastics and basketball.