84% of construction work for Paris 2024 Olympics completed

Paris 2024 Olympic Games will start on 26 July.With less than 200 days to go until the Paris 2024 Olympic Games begin, organisers are working flat out to complete venues that are behind schedule.

"We are in the home straight, now we have to sprint," says one Paris Games organiser, with 200 days to go until Monday's Opening Ceremony. The huge amount of work that has been done so far "is useless if it is not finished", sums up the president of the organising committee, Tony Estanguet.

The official discourse in France is that preparations are on schedule and that the country will be ready to welcome more than 10 million spectators on 26 July.

Paris has a major advantage in this respect: Most of the facilities were already built when it was chosen on 13 September 2017 to host the Games for the third time, a century after the last. This was one of the most emphasised arguments put forward by the Paris authorities.

According to Nicolas Ferrand, CEO of Solideo, 84% of the work has been completed, compared with the 89% planned. However, the company in charge of delivering the venues and infrastructure for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has identified a number of problems. He also emphasises safety. On the 70 sites that have been opened, 168 accidents have been recorded, four times fewer than usual.

Solideo chief executive officer Nicolas Ferrand, looks on during a press conference. GETTY IMAGES

There have been delays in three areas: work on the Grand Palais, three buildings in the Olympic Village and the Colombes swimming pool, the training centre for synchronised swimming, but these are only a few weeks old and do not appear to have affected the competition.

On 11 July, the La Chapelle sports centre in the north of the city will be inaugurated, one of the few construction sites planned for the bid, which will accommodate 8,000 spectators for the badminton events (from 27 July to 5 August) and then for the rhythmic gymnastics events (from 8 to 10 August).

Work on the stadium, which will later be used by the Paris basketball team, is on schedule. On 1 March it will be the turn of the Olympic Village, located on three sites in the north of the capital, 51 hectares which will house 14,500 athletes and become social housing after the Games. The construction of the three buildings, which will house around 500 athletes, is behind schedule, says Ferrand.

A few days later, work will be completed on the Aquatic Centre, an original building opposite the Stade de France. It is the only new building built exclusively for the Games and will host synchronised swimming and diving. The rest of the swimming events will be held at the Defence Arena to the north-west, an impressive indoor venue owned by the local rugby team, which will undergo extensive renovation to include a swimming pool.

A staff member of Solideo watches over the Olympic village construction site in Saint-Denis. GETTY IMAGES

It is one of the hottest spots in the project. On 12 May, the last of Taylor Swift's four concerts in the capital will take place, the last before she begins her transformation for the Games. In two days' time, the place where the American star's fans will be dancing is expected to look like a swimming stadium.

Five days after the Olympic flame is lit on 14 April, another venue joins the Paris 2024 family: the Grand Palais.

Built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition (the year Paris hosted the Games for the first time), this monument, with its impressive transparent dome - a feat of engineering at the time - has been under construction for more than three years at a cost of 466 million euros. It will host fencing (from 27 July to 4 August) and taekwondo (from 7 to 10 August). The work is behind schedule, but the organisers are not too worried.

Hayden Wilde of New Zealand competes in front of Le Grand Palais during the Men World Triathlon Championship Series. GETTY IMAGES

The Grand Palais is a symbol of Paris's desire to combine monumentality with sport. This is also happening in other parts of the city, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Place de la Concorde, but with temporary installations.

Paris also boasts about another point that has caused controversy in the country: There have been no major changes to the €4.5 billion budget, of which over €1.72 billion will come from the public purse. In fact, according to Ferrand, 57.5 million euros have been set aside to cover any changes to the original plans.

Less than 200 days before the start of the Games, 7.6 million tickets for the competitions have already been sold, although it is still possible to buy some, not counting the fact that from April those who have already done so will be able to resell those they will not be using, which will be put back on sale.