Paris Olympics from Above
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- olympics_paris_oli2_20240607_lrg.jpg (720x480, JPEG)
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- olympics_versailles_oli2_20240607_lrg.jpg (720x330, JPEG)
Metadata
- Sensor(s):
- Landsat 9 - OLI-2
- Data Date: June 7, 2024
- Visualization Date: July 23, 2024
From July 26 to August 11, athletes from around the world will come together in France to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Venues for the games span the country, but most of the 329 events will occur within Paris and its metropolitan area.
Many of the Olympic venues make use of the historic and iconic landmarks throughout Paris, though some events will take place in new temporary and permanent structures erected for the games. These venues will also be used during the International Paralympic Games, taking place from August 28 through September 8.
The image above highlights venues located along the Seine River, the main artery of Paris. The opening ceremony, scheduled for July 26, will take place along the river rather than in a stadium. Traveling on large boats, about 10,500 athletes will wind their way from east to west through the center of the city. The 6-kilometer parade route ends in front of the Trocadéro, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower, where the ceremony’s remaining shows will take place.
Temporary structures developed for the games include the Eiffel Tower Stadium (too small to be seen in the image) and the Champ de Mars Arena. The Eiffel Tower Stadium—immediately adjacent to the iconic landmark—will host beach volleyball and blind football events. The Champ de Mars Arena—a 10,000-square-meter building constructed in 2021 to stage events during the renovation of the Grand Palais—will host judo and wrestling events.
The Château de Versailles, shown in the image above, is about 30 kilometers west of Paris and was the principal residence of the French kings from the time of Louis XIV to Louis XVI. The 800-hectare site, now a national museum, includes a palace, gardens, stables, and the 1,670-meter-long Grand Canal. Equestrian sports will be held west of the Grand Canal from July 27 to August 6. The modern pentathlon—a demanding sport that combines horse riding, fencing, swimming, running, and shooting—will be held here from August 8 to 11.
Several other historic venues have been renovated to accommodate the games, including the Grand Palais, built in 1897, and Place de la Concorde, a public square created in 1772 (both are visible in the image at the top). Place de la Concorde has been temporarily transformed into an open-air arena to host skateboarding, 3×3 basketball, BMX freestyle, and breaking—a dance style that incorporates acrobatic movements making its debut in the 2024 Olympics.
Across the Seine from those venues is another historic site: The Invalides. Hôtel des Invalides was built in 1687, during the reign of Louis XIV, as a military hospital and retirement home for war veterans. Today, the building includes French military monuments as well as Napoleon Bonaparte’s tomb. Esplanade des Invalides is an open area next to the hotel, flanked by trees on either side. The esplanade will be the stage for the archery and para-archery events.
Southwest of the main cluster of venues, the Stade Roland-Garros—an iconic tennis arena and home to the French Open—will host tennis and wheelchair tennis, as well as the boxing and sitting volleyball competitions. The Parcs des Prince stadium, which seats over 47,000 people and held the 1998 Football World Cup, will once again host the football (also known as soccer) events for the Olympics.
One of the country’s largest venues, the Stade de France, is located north of downtown Paris. Athletics events, which include various track events such as the discus throw, hurdles, and relay races, will be held here. The adjacent Olympic Aquatics Center is one of the permanent structures built for the games. With a curved solar roof, the 5,000-seat venue, constructed mainly from wood, will house the artistic swimming, water polo, and diving events.
Although all the venues above are within the same satellite scene, acquired on June 7, 2024, by the OLI-2 (Operational Land Imager-2) on Landsat 9, one of the sites for the games is 15,000 kilometers from Paris. Olympic surfing competitions will be held off the coast of Teahupo’o in Tahiti, an island of French Polynesia. This part of Tahiti is known for having especially large and “heavy” waves, which have drawn participants to numerous surfing competitions. As part of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, it will be one of the longest distances between an Olympic medal event and the host city.
References & Resources
- Bloomberg (2024, March 9) Why the Paris Olympics Will Be a Modest Showcase of Wood Architecture. Accessed July 23, 2024.
- NASA Earth Observatory (2022, July 14) Tahiti’s Heavy Waves. Accessed July 23, 2024.
- Paris 2024 Venues. Accessed July 23, 2024.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Emily Cassidy.
This image record originally appeared on the Earth Observatory. Click here to view the full, original record.