Saint-Denis, a suburb located 9.4 km from the center of Paris, is confirmed as the construction site for the Aquatics Center for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. With this announcement, the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Bid Committee has now completed their proposals for all of the Olympic sports venues.
Saint-Denis, France is best known as the home for the Stade de France, the national Stadium of France, which holds 81,338 seats and is the fifth-largest stadium in Europe. The Stade de France was finalized in 1998 to host the 1998 FIFA World Cup. This massive stadium is proposed as the staging ground for the 2024 Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies, as well as all Athletics competitions.
The Aquatics Center will be connected via pedestrian bridge to the Stade de France, and is the only competition venue that will be constructed for the Games. The Center will contain two 50-meter competition pools and two diving pools. It will host the Games’ Synchronized Swimming, Swimming and Diving events. During the Games, the aquatic facility is proposed to hold 15,000 spectators, a number that will be reduced to 2,500 following the Games’ completion. It is proposed as a state-of-the-art venue, built aligned with the bid committee’s sustainable construction values.
Regarding the announcement, Paris 2024 Co-Chairman, Tony Estanguet, issued the following statements:
The new venue’s close proximity to the Stade de France and the Athletes’ Village enhances the compactness of the Paris 2024 bid with great accessibility for athletes, spectators and media. The new Olympic sports hub will serve as central pillar in the Saint-Denis community bringing even more Olympic sport to the city, further embedding Olympism in everyday life in Paris and creating a strong legacy for the youth population.
Paris 2024 will be spectacular Games of style and substance and a wonderful celebration of Olympic sport. The new Aquatics Centre is a symbol of Paris’ creativity and dynamism strengthening sport’s role in society across the city – we are thrilled that plans for all of the proposed Paris 2024 venues are now laid out in full.