When do the Olympic Games start? Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony date and time revealed

Joshua Mayne

When do the Olympic Games start? Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony date and time revealed image

Paris is currently preparing to host the Olympic Games for 2024.

An iconic sporting event, the world's top athletes will descend upon the French capital for nearly three weeks of action-packed days.

The Sporting News has the key details for this year's opening ceremony.

MORE: Paris Olympics tickets – Registration, how to buy, price

When do the Paris Olympics 2024 start?

  • Olympics 2024 start date: July 24

This year's Olympic Games will technically begin two days before the opening ceremony.

The first events – group stage football and rugby sevens pool matches – will start on Wednesday, July 24.

On Thursday, July 25, there will be more action with archery and handball thrown into the mix.

The full preliminary schedule is available here.

When is the Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony? 

  • Olympics 2024 opening ceremony date: July 26

The opening ceremony will take place on Friday, July 26. No competition events are scheduled for that date, with full focus to be on France's capital.

In a first for the Games, the ceremony will not be held in a stadium.

Rather, athletes will be showcased as they travel along the Seine – Paris' iconic river.

National delegations will have individual boats, parading for 6km and finishing at the Trocadéro, where the traditional elements of the Olympic protocol will take place.

It is also an event for Parisiens, with free admission for the majority of spectators.

Seine
Getty Images

The ceremony will begin at 8:24 pm local time, which cleverly reads 20:24 on a 24-hour clock.

It is unclear how long the proceedings will take, although recent ceremonies have been close to four hours in duration.

Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony start time

Local (CEST)8:24 pm
UK (BST)7:24pm
US (EDT)2:24 pm
India (IST)11:54 pm
Japan (JST)3:24 am*
Australia (AEST)4:24 am*

* +1 day

When do the 2024 Paris Olympics finish?

  • Olympics 2024 end date: August 11

The Paris Olympics will wrap up on Sunday, August 11. On the final day, a total of 13 gold medal events will take place, including the women's marathon, men's keirin, men's handball and women's basketball.

The closing ceremony will take place at 8:00 pm local time on the same day.

It will be held at the Stade de France – the location of the athletics and rugby during the Games.

Joshua Mayne

Joshua Mayne Photo

Joshua Mayne is a content producer for The Sporting News Australia based in Sydney, Australia. He has previously worked as a newsreader at 2SER and journalist at Ministry of Sport. While Joshua’s main passions are football, rugby league, basketball and F1, he will watch any sport that's on. He is still waiting for Arsenal to win the Premier League again.