As I'm sure you know, the Summer 2024 Olympic Games are underway and will be wrapping up at the end of the week in the host city of Paris, France. Thousands of people have made plans to attend Olympic events this year and apparently there's room for even more people to visit Paris. Ticket prices for events vary and are released daily, but prices are generally more expensive. I saw some tickets as low as about $55 USD for basketball, over $600 USD for women's artistic gymnastics, and more than $1000 USD for swimming. The Summer 2024 Paralympic Games actually offers the best ticket prices, including a discovery pass that gets you into multiple events for a day. Since the Paralympic Games receive less airtime (at least in the United States), attending events in-person is one of the best ways to see more of the action.
Ironically, people don't appear to be interested in vacationing in Paris with the Summer Games there as much as anticipated because there are some really good flight and hotel deals out there to attract more tourist to the the City of Lights. I am one of those people not planning to travel to Paris. However, that isn't stopping me from experiencing Paris from home. Planning a Summer 2024 Olympics watch party allows you to bring Paris to your home, office, or anywhere else you want to watch the best athletes in the world compete! My family has a history of doing Olympic Games watch parties like the one we did with the 2022 Winter Olympics for which I gave some watch party planning recommendations. Once again, I'm sharing some ideas for how you can plan your own watch party for the Summer 2024 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games with a distinct French theme to bring the Paris experience to your family and friends.
When
Summer 2024 Olympic Games
Opening: July 26, 2024
Closing: August 11, 2024
Summer 2024 Paralympic Games
Opening: August 28, 2024
Closing: September 8, 2024
*Important Note: For those in western time zones like myself, the Summer Olympics will be approximately a third of the day behind and surfing will be nearly a day ahead because that event is in Tahiti. Paralympic Games coverage is often limited in the United States on national networks. Check your local listings or streaming service options for coverage dates and times.
Where
The Summer Games will be hosted by Paris, France. The theme has been very French and very Parisian. In a city with numerous landmarks, they have found a way to incorporate all of them into nearly every aspect of the Summer Games. It's honestly impressive and makes me want to take another trip to Paris which I visited back in 2015! That being said, every sporting event is not in Paris at the Eiffel Tower like beach volleyball. For example, fencing and equestrian events are at Versailles, basketball is in Lille, and surfing is all the way in Tahiti.
How to Watch
Each country has their particular networks and providers that cover the Olympic and Paralympic games. Depending on the number of options available, you may find that some have better coverage than others. In the United States, NBC is the network that has been granted rights to cover the Games. They typically air the Olympics and Paralympics throughout the day and night across their NBC/Universal networks. They also have additional content on their website and the greatest amount of coverage on their streaming service, Peacock.
Watch Party Preparation
For years, my mom and I have planned for the Olympics with special food and activities throughout the duration of the event. We take time to learn more about this history of the host city along with any new events that are being included for the Olympics. We also like to create menus based on the unique cuisine of the host city/country. If you are thinking about planning one or multiple watch parties for the 2024 Summer Games, these tips can help you prepare!
Location
The watch party location can be your house, a family member's or friend's house, event space, or other preferred location near home whether indoors or outdoors. Any place with cable, WiFi, or both will suffice. Multiple screens at your watch party means you can keep up with more events at once, so that is something you'll want to consider as you think about your venue. If someone can log into their Peacock account or YouTube TV account, you can watch up to 4 events at once in quadview or multiview which is a great solution for watching multiple events on a single screen. I've been using that feature whenever I didn't have a specific event that I was committed to watching or had multiple events taking place at the same time that I wanted to see.
Decorations
Recommended features of a watch party, but not required. I still haven't decorated for Olympics watch parties, but it's super easy to do when the host city is Paris. While Parisian scenery cannot be perfectly replicated, you can find plenty of decorations online and in stores (my bedroom is Paris-themed and I have far too many Eiffel Towers). Find whatever decorations you like or craft your own! See what materials your watch party group may already have in their possession or buy items for relatively low costs at dollar stores or other discount stores. Super stores or party supply stores will have items that vary in cost and are not always as budget-friendly.
Food
I call Kimi's Travel Thoughts a travel and culture blog because it's impossible for me to travel without acknowledging how much culture (both mine or the locals') shapes the experience. I still believe there is much that one can learn about other cultures through cuisine. You can learn so much about the history of a place or group of people through food if you allow curiosity and a desire for learning to lead the way. French cuisine has a rich history and the food and wine are fantastic. There's a reason why so many top chefs go to France for training. Whether you're a home chef or takeout connoisseur, you can experience French dining at any price point. I was responsible for developing my family's watch party menu this year and came up with the following suggestions after some research and based on availability of items in nearby grocery stores or menu items from restaurants in my local area:
Kimi's Travel Thoughts Summer 2024 Paris Olympic Games Menu
Pastries & Desserts
Croissants
Macarons
Mille Feuille
Éclair
Madeleines
Crêpes
Crème Brûlée
Street Food & Snacks
Crêpes
Croque-Monsieur
Baguette Sandwiches (like jambon-beurre)
Charcuterie Board (create your own as an activity or purchase one from a small business or grocery store)
General Food
Boeuf Bourguignon
Bouillabaisse
French Onion Soup
Quiche Lorraine
Ratatouille
Steak frites
Roast Chicken & Potatoes (ideal for the home chef)
Drinks
Perrier
Café au lait
French 75
Wine
Activities
What's great about watch parties is that you can plan fun, inexpensive activities for commercial breaks! Consider recreating sporting events and having mini-competitions with your guests. Are you and your watch party group the type of people who like to show off your knowledge? Summer Olympics or Paralympics trivia is another entertaining activity that can be done in rounds, plus participants can play solo or in groups. You could create your own trivia game or find one that has already been made online. Themes could include Summer Olympics or Paralympics history or trivia games for individual sporting events.
Other ideas include Summer Games-themed Pictionary or BINGO. Again, you could create your own versions of these games. However, there is a likely chance that they are available online in a full version or template.
Feeling like you want to do even more activities beyond watch parties? Depending on your location, you could dedicate some time and money (costs will vary) to trying out the summer sports for yourself! There are local sporting clubs, courts, fields, and other summer sports venues across the globe and they typically offer lessons or organize teams for different levels of competition. Don't forget to check for coupons and options for renting any equipment that you may need!
Wrap-Up
I hope you found these suggestions on how to plan for an entertaining watch party for the Summer 2024 Olympics and Paralympics to be helpful! This post was not meant to serve as a step-by-step guide to planning a watch party. You can use the suggestions in this post to help guide your event planning and generate ideas that will make the experience the best for you and other watch party attendees. It's possible to host a watch party and spend as little or as much as you would like. Remember, there's no right or wrong way to host a watch party. The most important thing to do is have fun and root for the athletes that have worked so hard to compete at this level whether that be from the comfort of your couch or in Paris because you ended up booking one of those cheap flights at the last minute!
Feel free to leave comments below, tweet (@KimiThoughts), or leave a post/message on Facebook (@KimisTravelThoughts) and share your experiences with or suggestions for planning an Olympics or Paralympics watch party!
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