Paris Olympics: Groundbreaking Success in Attendance and Innovation

Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics organizers celebrated a remarkable achievement, having sold over 12 million tickets. The event, which included unique venues and innovative ceremonies, set a new benchmark for attendance and engagement. Insights from this success will be shared with the Los Angeles 2028 team.

More than 12 million tickets were sold for the Olympics and Paralympics, with Paris organizers calling it an "unprecedented success" on Friday.

The 12,132,647 tickets across both Games represented 95% of crowd capacity at the venues, according to Tony Estanguet, head of the Paris organizing committee.

"We knew how complicated it could be to organize such a big event, and we can now say that we are very happy it all went well," Estanguet said at a news conference in Saint-Denis.

Estanguet highlighted that the Paris Games set new benchmarks for attendance and engagement. The last evening of Paralympics athletics on Sept 7 saw 67,500 tickets sold at the Stade de France, the highest turnout for any session this summer.

"There was a bit of daring in challenging ourselves to do things that had never been done before," Estanguet remarked, referencing the Olympics and Paralympics opening ceremonies held outside stadiums, and competitions near prestigious landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Palace of Versailles.

This innovative approach caught the interest of 2028 Los Angeles Games organizers, who shadowed the Paris team throughout the summer.

Estanguet also announced multiple meetings between Paris and Los Angeles organizers to share insights over the coming months.

"The main message would be to be audacious and to build on the specificities and strengths of their territory," Estanguet advised. "It's up to them to define what is the main strength of LA 28 and to really be audacious." Paris' feel-good summer of sport will culminate on Saturday with a grand parade on the Champs Elysées featuring hundreds of French athletes.

(With inputs from agencies.)