13 Fun Facts About the Olympics to Know Ahead of the Games
Updated: Jul. 17, 2024
In light of the 2024 Summer Games, we're sharing a few fascinating facts about the Olympics. Some may shock you!
Michael Phelps. Usain Bolt. Simone Biles. Serena Williams. We all know these Olympic legends, but how much do you know about the Olympic Games themselves? While the modern Olympics have been around since 1896, the original Games go back around 3,000 years, so as you can imagine, there are a lot of fascinating facts about the Olympics to learn!
From bizarre events and quirky traditions to secrets of the Olympic Village, we’re spilling the tea on details you might have missed. The following nuggets of Olympic trivia, along with a few inspiring sports quotes, are perfect to share as you watch the athletes go for gold. So suit up, grab your snacks and get ready for the 2024 Summer Olympics, which start on July 26.
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The 2024 Summer Olympics marks the third time Paris has hosted the event
The second-ever modern Olympics were held here in 1900, and then Paris hosted them again in 1924. Paris and London are now tied for hosting the most Olympics. At the next Summer Games in 2028, Los Angeles will host its third, making it a three-way tie.
Before the Games begin, there’s a months-long Torch Relay
As always, the relay began in Greece, an homage to the home of the ancient Olympics. Greece also has the honor of entering first during the Parade of Nations, while the host nation enters last. (In 2004, when Athens hosted, the Greek flag bearer entered first, while the rest of the Greek delegation entered last.) The torch was lit in April, reached France in May and continues to tour the country and its territories overseas. Along the way, about 10,000 torchbearers will carry it through more than 400 towns.
During the 2024 Opening Ceremony, athletes won’t parade through a stadium
Instead, they are expected to float on boats down the River Seine toward the Eiffel Tower. For the first time ever, free access will be offered via invitation. Of course, some shelled out serious cash for the best seats and views: The last unsold tickets were just shy of $3,000 apiece.
Airbnb and Vrbo prices in Paris have more than doubled
According to Business Insider, prices have jumped from an average of $435 per night to $932 during the Olympics. And the cost of a ride on the Paris Metro will almost double during the Games. The New York Times reported that a basic room at an Ibis hotel that normally costs $97 to $215 was going for $431 to $755. Tickets to Olympic events aren’t cheapeither. The lowest prices (as of January)for the men’s 10-meter platform diving event were about $950.
Most of the estimated billions of spectators will watch on TV
NBC has the U.S. broadcasting rights, having paid $7.75 billion to air the Games from 2021 to 2032 on its network and its Peacock app. The flagship network is planning at least nine hours of live coverage daily, plus a prime-time show packaging highlights. Tune in to Telemundo for Spanish-language coverage.
The Olympics feature fewer events than they used to
Tokyo 2020 had a whopping 339 events. The count for Paris 2024 is still high, though, at 329. But take note of this fact about the Olympics: Gone are karate (not entertaining enough, according to Reuters) and baseball (the Olympics schedule conflicts with Major League Baseball). But there is also one entirely new sport this summer: breaking—or, as it’s more commonly known, breakdancing. No other dance sport has previously been included at the Olympics.
Unusual sports were once part of the Games
Solo synchronized swimming (ummm …), tandem bicycle, tug-of-war, hot-air ballooning and a swimming obstacle race. And from 1912to 1948, the Olympicsalso included artistic competitions. Painters, sculptors, architects, writers and musicians all vied for medals in their fields.
Six athletes have medaled at both the Summer and Winter Olympics
Here’s an impressive fact for you: The most recent was Miami native Eduardo “Eddy” Alvarez, who won asilver medal in speed skating relay in 2014 and in baseball in 2021. Germany’s Christa Luding-Rothenburger is the only athlete to medal across both seasons in the same year, after winning medalsin speed skating and sprint cycling in 1988. That won’t be matched as long as the Summer and Winter Games remain staggered, as they have been since 1994.
Strange Olympic mascots have been a tradition since 1968
The Olympic mascots are anthropomorphic something-or-others that are supposedly symbolic of the host country’s culture. This time, it’s a phryge (FRI-jee-uh)—a soft red hat worn during the French Revolution. Other odd mascots have included the indefinable Izzy (prompting the question from those who couldn’t tell, “What Izzy?”) from Atlanta ’96, and a one-eyed Teletubby-esque creature called Wenlock from London 2012.
Paris shines as the City of Love during the Olympics
Four-time Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte estimated in 2012 that 70% to 75% of Olympic athletes are having sex during the Games. Organizers of the Rio 2016 Games distributed so many condoms, it averaged 42 per athlete!
Only some national parks charge access fees
Here’s a fun fact about the Olympics you may not have known before: Only about a quarter of the national parks charge admission. That money remains within the NPS, and at least 80% of it stays in the park where it was collected, funding things such as visitor access and habitat restoration. Supplementing those funds are the official NPS budget of $3.5 billion, as well as private donations.
Many Olympians pay their bills through unrelated day jobs
Jared Ward, a 2016 U.S. marathon runner, is a statistics professor at Brigham Young University. Three-time Olympic trampoline gymnast Ana Rente of Portugal balanced those dreams with being a doctor. And badminton player Scott Evans of Irelandis also co-owner of Hosbjerg, a women’s clothing company.
The Summer 2024 Games has a track standout
Repping Team USA, along with household names such as swimmer Katie Ledecky, gymnast and female trailblazer Simone Biles, and basketball player LeBron James, is a name we may all know soon: track standout Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. The 24-year-old from New Brunswick, New Jersey, keeps breaking and rebreaking her own world record in the 400-meter hurdles and should be favored in a variety of events in Paris. Who knows? Perhaps the Paris Olympics will be remembered as the “Sydney” Olympics.
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Sources:
- Business Insider: “Airbnb hosts are scrambling to cash in on the Paris Summer Olympics—and visitors are struggling to find cheap places to stay”
- New York Times: “The Paris Olympics Promise to Be Stunning. The Prices Already Are.”
- Reuters: “Olympics-One and done? Karate ponders uncertain Olympic future after Tokyo debut”
- NPS: “Your Fee Dollars at Work”
