After the excitement of the European Championships and Copa América, people in Switzerland will be able to indulge in the finale of the 2024 summer of sport with the Olympics. Here’s what you need to know about the Swiss Olympic team and how you can watch the games at home and on the go.
On July 26th, the 2024 Summer Olympics will get underway in Paris. 10.714 athletes from 206 nations will compete in 329 events and 32 different sports, showcasing the zenith of human ability. The games will run from July 26 until the closing ceremony on August 11, with the Paralympic Games being held later, between August 28 and September 8.
The games promise to be quite a spectacle, with France expected to spend nine billion francs on the event. The games will mainly take place in and around Paris, though events like basketball, rowing, kayaking, sailing, football and shooting will take place in other cities in France - the surfing event will take place in Tahiti!
The opening ceremony will start at 7.30pm Swiss time on July 26, 2024. The festivities will take place in the Jardins du Trocadéro and the banks of the River Seine. French President Emanuel Macron will formally open the games, with the Olympic cauldron expected to be lit by the event’s conclusion at 11.15pm.
The opening is expected to be a spectacular showcase of French culture, with 160 boats and barges expected to sail down the Seine during the ceremony. 300.000 people are also expected to line the venue and river.
In Switzerland, the national broadcasters SRF, RTS and RSI will broadcast the Paris Olympics and Paralympic Games. As you would expect, these stations will focus on events where Swiss athletes are competing, meaning coverage of certain events will be prioritised over others.
Alternate platforms like Eurosport will be covering the games more broadly, alongside broadcasters from across Europe. If you don’t have a TV subscription or want to watch the games on the go from your mobile phone, there will be many live streams of the games on the internet, from YouTube to the SRF website.
Switzerland is set to send 128 athletes to the Paris Olympics, the largest delegation sent since the 1984 games in Los Angeles. “I am convinced that we have selected a team that is ready for top sporting performances, for winning medals and for surprises,” noted Swiss Olympic president Jürg Stahl.
35 of the 128 will be representing Swiss cantons in athletics, followed by 18 in cycling and 17 in rowing. The youngest competitor is 19-year-old gymnast Lena Bickel from Ticino, while the oldest is 61-year-old showjumper Pius Schwizer from Solothurn. The majority of Swiss athletes hail from German-speaking areas (67 percent), followed by the French-speaking region (28 percent) and Italian Switzerland (5 percent).
While yet to be completely confirmed, up to 25 athletes will be representing Switzerland at the Paralympics. Of these, most will be competing in athletics, cycling, swimming and rowing.
Switzerland has a strong history with both the Summer and Winter Olympics, having sent athletes to the first modern games in Athens in 1896. Since then, 345 medals have been awarded to Swiss athletes, including 106 gold medals, 120 silvers and 119 bronzes.
In the past, the Swiss have excelled most in the winter games, especially in downhill skiing. In summer, most Swiss medals have been won in gymnastics, followed by rowing and equestrian events.
The alpine nation has also played host to the Olympics, holding the winter version of the games in the ski resort and luxury hotspot of St. Moritz in 1928 and 1948. Though attempts to host the games again in 2030 fell through, the alpine nation has a permanent link to the games: Lausanne, the official “Olympic Capital” since 1994, has hosted the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee since 1915.
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