A general view of the Eiffel Tower at night as the Olympic Rings are displayed ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
A general view of the Eiffel Tower at night as the Olympic Rings are displayed ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
A general view of the Eiffel Tower at night as the Olympic Rings are displayed ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

List of Paris 2024 Olympics articles

Paris 2024 Olympics

Stay up to date with FP’s staff writers and contributors, and explore our archival Olympics coverage.

The Summer Olympics will get underway this week with an opening ceremony on July 26. For President Emmanuel Macron, this edition is part of his efforts to boost France’s profile—and the Olympics have historically reflected the events of the year, from political tensions to COVID-19.

Four men, three with prosthetic legs, wear bike helmets and t-shirts as they stand in a parking lot, gathered around a bicycle held up by the man second from the right. The sky above is a dim, dark blue; it seems to be either dawn or dusk.
Four men, three with prosthetic legs, wear bike helmets and t-shirts as they stand in a parking lot, gathered around a bicycle held up by the man second from the right. The sky above is a dim, dark blue; it seems to be either dawn or dusk.

Meet the Para-Cyclists Riding for Gaza

The Sunbirds’ story began with tragedy but has evolved into one of resilience.

Dispatch
Jonathan Rashad
French President Emmanuel Macron holds an Olympic gold medal as he delivers a speech to representatives of stakeholders who helped organize and host the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, seen at the Élysée Palace in Paris on Aug. 12.
French President Emmanuel Macron holds an Olympic gold medal as he delivers a speech to representatives of stakeholders who helped organize and host the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, seen at the Élysée Palace in Paris on Aug. 12.

France’s Quest for Olympic Glory

Ahead of the Paris Games, Macron invested heavily in efforts to boost elite sports. Did it pay off?

Analysis
Michele Barbero
Basketball players Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler, and Karl Malone stand in a line wearing matching U.S. flag sweatshirts and Olympic gold medals. Jordan is in the center, raising his hand and making the peace or victory sign.
Basketball players Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler, and Karl Malone stand in a line wearing matching U.S. flag sweatshirts and Olympic gold medals. Jordan is in the center, raising his hand and making the peace or victory sign.

America Is No Longer Basketball’s Sole Superpower

Ever since the Dream Team’s unbeaten 1992 Olympic run, U.S. hegemony in men’s basketball has been under threat from European teams.

Review
Jack Detsch, Rishi Iyengar
The Olympic Rings are seen in front of the Louvre Pyramid during the Olympic Games in Paris.
The Olympic Rings are seen in front of the Louvre Pyramid during the Olympic Games in Paris.

Why It’s Hard to Cash In on the Olympics

Neither the host countries nor the athletes tend to profit from the Games.

Insider
Cameron Abadi, Adam Tooze
From left: Chinese swimmers Xu Jiayu, Qin Haiyang, Sun Jiajun, and Pan Zhanle pose after winning the men's 4x100m medley relay at Paris La Défense Arena in Nanterre, France, on Aug. 4.
From left: Chinese swimmers Xu Jiayu, Qin Haiyang, Sun Jiajun, and Pan Zhanle pose after winning the men's 4x100m medley relay at Paris La Défense Arena in Nanterre, France, on Aug. 4.

China’s Swimming Victories Marred by Criticism

Athletes and commentators revive skepticism about how the World Anti-Doping Agency handled allegations ahead of the Paris Olympics.

China Brief
James Palmer
A photos illustration of athlete Zdenek Koubek superimposed on an intersex pride flag among the olympic rings.
A photos illustration of athlete Zdenek Koubek superimposed on an intersex pride flag among the olympic rings.

How Olympic Officials First Drew Gender Lines

Athletes’ complex identities were simplified by reactionary politics.

Review
Sydney Bauer
Chinese athletes wave flags on the team boat along the River Seine during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Chinese athletes wave flags on the team boat along the River Seine during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

What the Olympics Mean to China

Beijing has established itself as a top medal contender, but its athletics no longer signal openness to the rest of the world.

China Brief
James Palmer
A poster shows a javelin thrower with the skyline of Paris — including the Sacre Coure and the Eiffel Tower — and a globe behind him. Text on the image reads: VIIIe Olympiade: Jevx Olympiqves: Paris 1924"
A poster shows a javelin thrower with the skyline of Paris — including the Sacre Coure and the Eiffel Tower — and a globe behind him. Text on the image reads: VIIIe Olympiade: Jevx Olympiqves: Paris 1924"

For Paris, the Olympics Chaos Is Déjà Vu

This summer marks the third time France has hosted the Games—and the third time it has hosted major controversy.

Argument
David Clay Large
People wait under the Olympic Rings at a Paris train station.
People wait under the Olympic Rings at a Paris train station.

Arson Attacks Hit French Railways Ahead of Paris Olympics

The coordinated effort exposed security gaps ahead of the Games’ opening ceremony.

World Brief
Alexandra Sharp
Two police officers walk past the Arc de Triomphe.
Two police officers walk past the Arc de Triomphe.

The Threat Against the Paris Games

The choice of the Olympics as a target follows the logic of terrorism itself.

Analysis
Tore Hamming, Colin P. Clarke
An illustration shows a series of film stills inside the Olympics rings.
An illustration shows a series of film stills inside the Olympics rings.

Streaming Films to Cure Your Olympic Fever

From awe-inspiring documentaries to a figure skating melodrama.

Review
Jordan Hoffman
The wind blows a plastic bag past the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing on Jan. 23, 2008.
The wind blows a plastic bag past the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing on Jan. 23, 2008.

The Olympics Have a Dirty History—Literally

But a green sports movement is pushing for change, eager to see if Paris will be different.

Excerpt
Madeleine Orr
French President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo wear hard hats and orange construction vests as they stand against a clear blue sky. Macron looks to the left and gestures with one hand while Hidalgo looks in the same direction, smiling.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo wear hard hats and orange construction vests as they stand against a clear blue sky. Macron looks to the left and gestures with one hand while Hidalgo looks in the same direction, smiling.

The Competition for France’s Olympic Legacy

As the Games get underway, President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo are vying for first place on the political podium. This article has an audio recording

Analysis
Michele Barbero
Torch bearers Dinigeer Yilamujiang and Jiawen Zhao of Team China light the Olympic Cauldron during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4 in Beijing, China.
Torch bearers Dinigeer Yilamujiang and Jiawen Zhao of Team China light the Olympic Cauldron during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4 in Beijing, China.

The Forced Smiles of Beijing’s Olympics

The Communist Party’s victims are not even allowed silence.

Argument
Teng Biao
Olympic British speed skater Farrell Treacy in Beijing.
Olympic British speed skater Farrell Treacy in Beijing.

U.N. Chief Rebuffs U.S. Request to Skip Beijing Olympics

U.S. envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield presses António Guterres to confront China over rights abuses in Xinjiang.

Exclusive
Colum Lynch
Spectators wearing "Where is Peng Shuai?" T-shirts, are pictured in the stands during the women's singles final match of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 29.
Spectators wearing "Where is Peng Shuai?" T-shirts, are pictured in the stands during the women's singles final match of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 29.

China Can’t Silence Olympic Athletes

Democratic states need to warn Beijing against punishing Olympians who speak out.

Argument
Doug Bandow
Workers walk by an Olympic billboard.
Workers walk by an Olympic billboard.

Beijing Must Face Olympic Consequences for Human Rights Abuses

Moving the Games offers a rare opportunity to weaken Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Argument
Michael Mazza
Miles Thompson plays lacrosse
Miles Thompson plays lacrosse

Gaming the State System

Can the Haudenosaunee Confederacy become the first Indigenous nation to secure an Olympic berth?

Feature
Josh Kron
A Belarusian athlete arrives at an international airport.
A Belarusian athlete arrives at an international airport.

The Geopolitical Stakes of Olympic Perfection—and Defection

The Tokyo Games have brought a surge of nationalism and laid bare the methods of autocrats like Belarus’s Aleksandr Lukashenko.

It's Debatable
Emma Ashford, Matthew Kroenig
Actress Katerina Lechou lights the Olympic flame at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, the sanctuary where the Olympic Games were born in 776 BC, on October 24, 2017 during the lighting ceremony of the Olympic flame for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Actress Katerina Lechou lights the Olympic flame at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, the sanctuary where the Olympic Games were born in 776 BC, on October 24, 2017 during the lighting ceremony of the Olympic flame for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The Pathological Obsession With Moving the Olympics

Having a single host site would be a simple—and entirely traditional—fix for what ails the Games.

Argument
David Clay Large
A Tibetan activist holds a placard and a Tibetan flag during a protest against Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in front of the Olympics Museum in Lausanne on June 23.
A Tibetan activist holds a placard and a Tibetan flag during a protest against Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in front of the Olympics Museum in Lausanne on June 23.

The IOC Should Stop Lying to Itself About the Beijing Olympics

Allowing the Games to happen alongside an ongoing genocide would be a disaster.

Argument
Kelsang Dolma
South Korean athlete runs bases at Tokyo Olympic Games.
South Korean athlete runs bases at Tokyo Olympic Games.

Japan Wasted a Golden Chance for Olympic Reconciliation

Tokyo-Seoul relations remain mired in bad history and petty insults.

Argument
S. Nathan Park
Simone Biles competes on the balance beam during the 2019 U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Kansas City, Missouri, on August 09, 2019.
Simone Biles competes on the balance beam during the 2019 U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Kansas City, Missouri, on August 09, 2019.

Athletes Are Post-National Now

Decades of sex abuse turned American gymnasts away from their federation. Will other sports follow suit?

Argument
Allison Meakem
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga attends a news conference at his official residence in Tokyo.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga attends a news conference at his official residence in Tokyo.

Suga’s Olympic-Sized Gamble

Backed by the G-7, Japan’s prime minister will likely go ahead with the games. How they play out will determine his survival.

Analysis
Kazuhiro Maeshima