What do good baguettes and surfing have in common? Not much! Just wait though, because the two will come together in the biggest event this summer, the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. If you haven’t seen the Olympics before, there is no time like the present. Keep reading to get the where, the when, and the how on watching the games.
Personally, I enjoy the summer games a lot more than the winter games. The Olympics operate on a two year schedule, with the summer/winter games switching every time. So every summer Olympics takes place every four years, just like for the winter games. The games date back to Ancient Greece and have continued to this day. With over two hundred countries and four hundred events, the games bring the world together and transcend borders and politics. To signify this, the games are started with an opening ceremony, where the eternal flame of competition lights a pyre. If you can’t wait for this fantastic spectacle, then you don’t have to wait long! Although the games officially run from July 26 to August 11, the torch relay race starts much earlier. This tradition dates back to 1936 and has been happening ever since then. This historic tradition occurs in Greece, where the games were originally held, with the lighting of a torch that will be brought to the hosting city via relay. The participants in this relay are various athletes from every sport and country who carry the torch toward the hosting city. This torch is never extinguished and the same flame lit in Greece will light the pyre on the opening night of the games. If you want to watch this beautiful spectacle this year, the relay starts the 10th of this May and continues until the start of the games. Sixty-nine teams of twenty-four people will participate in the relay this year with each sport representing showcasing their skills and advancing the torch each day.
While the torch relay is exciting, it only builds towards the actual games that will be hosting over ten thousand athletes to compete this year. If you are interested in watching, you can make an account on olympics.com for free to watch the games with an email. Other than that, a lot of news stations will be showing the games. Schedules, athletes, and rankings can all be found on the official website. If you can’t even wait for the relay, currently there are still qualifying events being held so if you really need something to watch tune in and choose your favorite athletes early!
Sources: olympics.com
Daniel Finegan 
Will Cunningham 
Paul McConnell