Skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing and breaking were confirmed as additional sports proposed by the Paris 2024 Organising Committee. This new flexibility is part of the reforms of Olympic Agenda 2020. Today’s decision will help to make the Olympic Games Paris 2024 fit for a post-corona world.
In accordance with the recommendations of the Olympic Programme Commission, the main features of Paris 2024’s Olympic programme include:
- Exactly 50 per cent male and female participation, following on from the gender equality already achieved for Tokyo 2020, which will have 48.8 per cent female participation.
- Growth of mixed gender events, from 18 to 22, compared to Tokyo 2020.
- Skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing and breaking confirmed as additional sports based on a proposal by Paris 2024. Breaking will make its Olympic debut.
- Reduction in the overall athlete quota (including all new sports) to exactly 10,500.
- Reduction in the overall number of events, with a final programme of 329 events.
“With this programme, we are making the Olympic Games Paris 2024 fit for the post-corona world. We are further reducing the cost and complexity of hosting the Games. While we will achieve gender equality already at the upcoming Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, we will see for the first time in Olympic history the participation of the exact same number of female athletes as male athletes. There is also a strong focus on youth,” said IOC President Thomas Bach.
The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 next year will be the first gender equal Olympic Games, with an overall 48.8 per cent female participation, which will be further increased at Paris 2024, reaching the exact same number of male and female athletes for the first time in Olympic history.
Athletics, boxing and cycling will reach full gender equality for the first time ever at Paris 2024, meaning 28 out of 32 sports on the Paris 2024 programme will be fully gender balanced.
Paris 2024 will also mark a growth in mixed events on the programme, compared to Tokyo 2020, from 18 to 22.
In the post-COVID-19 world, limiting the overall number of events is a key element in curbing the growth of the Olympic programme as well as additional costs. Although the IFs had requested a total of 41 additional events, the IOC EB decided not to increase the number of events across any of the 28 sports in the initial programme, ensuring a fair and objective approach in applying this principle to its review of the event programme.
In addition, the IOC EB strove to provide further reassurance to the athletes during this difficult time, consistent with the “athletes-first” approach of the IOC and the Paris 2024 Organising Committee. It therefore retained the vast majority of the current events, given the short three-year period between the Olympic Games Tokyo and Paris 2024.
As a result of these considerations, the overall number of events will be reduced from 339 to 329 compared to Tokyo 2020.
Four sports proposed by the Paris 2024 Organising Committee have been confirmed: skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing as well as breaking, which will make its Olympic debut, building on the success of the sport at the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018.
Additionally, the urban sport concept has been expanded, showcasing youth-focused events that are inclusive, engaging and can be practised outside conventional arenas.