Paris has been planning this transformation for several years now with the objective of making the Olympic Games a catalyst for public policies and initiatives to improve the quality of life in the city, during and after the Games, for residents and visitors alike.
Environmental responsibility is the common thread running through all these preparations. By anticipating it from the outset, with 95% of future Olympic venues already in existence or temporary.
What’s more, one of the most spectacular aspects of these Games is the use of the heart of the city of Paris throughout the event. Many sporting events take place in the most iconic and most central venues in the city. From BMX Freestyle to breaking, in Place de la Concorde, judo and wrestling on the Champ de Mars, not forgetting the grandiose opening ceremony along the Seine!
A number of new infrastructures have been built, including the Adidas Arena at Porte de la Chapelle and the Olympic Village in Saint-Denis, both of which are destined to become permanent facilities and central elements of future eco-neighbourhoods around which shops, green spaces, a new university and new housing will be built. Another key feature of this new district is the Olympic Aquatic Centre, which is linked to the Stade de France by a pedestrian footbridge.
The Games are also an opportunity for the iconic Grand Palais, closed since March 2021 for major renovations, to reopen to the public. Not forgetting the multiple numerous renovations of sporting facilities throughout north-east Paris, and the renovation of Paris's major squares. The whole of Paris is becoming more and more attractive!
For the city and its region, this bold ambition was a unique opportunity to renovate and optimize its urban space… With the single objective of making Paris a better place to live.
Freer, cleaner, closer. That could be the motto of post-Games Paris.
The first priority of the ‘living better’ initiative is to clean up the Seine. What seemed like a crazy gamble just a few years ago has finally become a reality: from 2025, Parisians and visitors alike will be able to bathe in the legendary river, with 23 new bathing sites, including three in the capital. Facilitating access to water also means continuing to make the water of Paris, whose quality is internationally recognised, accessible to everyone in the public space: through the 1,200 free fountains (some of them sparkling!) or the network of nearly 1,000 shopkeepers who allow everyone to fill their water bottles free of charge in their own homes.
The second aspect of ‘living better’ is to fluidify traffic in the capital.
First of all, through public transport, with 21 new metro stations and various line extensions, including the automatic line 14 to Orly airport in the south and to Saint-Denis Pleyel in the north, RER lines A and B have been made accessible to people with disabilities, as have 100% of bus lines, and, in the longer term, the Grand Paris Express, which will link the main living and working areas around Paris and whose four lines will be delivered progressively between 2025 and 2030. Tickets are now paperless, loaded onto smartphones or Navigo Easy passes, making it easier for visitors to get around.
Then there's cycling, with the creation of more than 60 km of new cycle paths in addition to the existing 1,000. In addition, 3,000 more Vélib' bikes will be made available during the Games, and almost 10,000 secure cycle spaces will be installed.
Finally, by boat, with the prospect of introducing electric river traffic.
With regard to road traffic, the ZTL (Zone à Trafic Limité) project in the centre of Paris will aim to significantly improve air quality. The Olympic lanes dedicated during the summer of 2024, notably on the Paris ring road, will be reserved after the Games for public transport, taxis and car pooling. This project will be accompanied by a green transformation with the planting of almost 45,000 trees.
Last but not least, as a result of these games, the entire Parisian tourism and events industry is preparing to welcome visitors from all over the world, with hospitality that has been rethought and brought up to the highest standards, with a Parisian ‘je ne sais quoi’ to match. Before, during and after the Games, Paris is ready!
