Paris Olympics 2024
The anticipation for the Paris 2024 Olympics is here as athletes, spectators, and officials from around the globe prepare for one of the oldest and most celebrated sporting events. As tourists and competitors touch down in Paris, the spotlight is on the elite sporting events, but what about the mammoth logistics of accommodating a vast influx of international visitors?
According to Forbes, 10,500 athletes will be competing at the games, along with 45,000 volunteers and 20,000 accredited journalists to report on the 329 events. A staggering 16 million visitors are also expected to visit Paris during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Ahead of the games, a total of 671,499 air travel arrivals are expected in March and April 2024 in Paris, based on the total bookings made up to February 2024.
Air travel
Air travel is a crucial part of the logistical puzzle in such large-scale events and presents both challenges and opportunities for organisers. In this case, it also presents a plethora of opportunities for official sponsors. According to official Olympic Games partner Air France, one in five athletes travelling to the games will be flying with them. In addition,125,000 customers per day are expected to board the French airline’s planes during this period, with peaks before and after the opening and closing ceremonies.
In 2016, the French carrier decorated aircraft in the traditional blue and red of the city of Paris in a bid to host the 2024 games. Headquartered in Paris at the heart of this year’s games, we are confident that passengers will experience a flavour of the games through cabin interiors to help build the excitement. The airline has even named its latest long-haul aircraft ‘Paris’.
Whilst in the limelight, Air France has also recently introduced the latest generation aircraft to the carrier’s fleet, with improved economic and environmental performance. Its CO2 emissions will be reduced by 25% compared to previous-generation aircraft and its noise footprint will be reduced by 40%.
Sustainability at the games
The official Paris Olympics website highlights the sustainability strategy that has been implemented by organisers, which claims to consider every step of the event’s lifecycle. The greatest challenge for Paris 2024 to meet its carbon targets is likely to come from spectator travel, which can account for around 80% of the emissions caused by major sporting events.
Nonetheless, the organisers appear to have thought of every detail. From renting and reusing resources where they can and utilising renewable energy sources, to building dining tables made of shuttlecocks and supporting plant-based menus in the Olympic village, the organisers have announced several initiatives they believe will help to reach target emission levels. The aspiration is to achieve a 50% reduction in carbon emissions compared to the average of London 2012 and Rio 2016.
The update on eVTOL
Last year, there were many column inches penned surrounding the latest ‘green’ innovation, an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL), which we discussed in a blog last year. These futuristic vehicles, often referred to as flying taxis, aimed to revolutionise urban mobility and offer sustainable and efficient solutions to the transportation challenges posed by the influx of visitors to Paris this summer. French authorities promised the city would be using eVTOLs to fly athletes from different stadiums around Paris.
eVTOL Insights explained the decision was supposed to be reached in January, then March, and even with 84 days to go, it was still up in the air. Fortunately, the German eVTOL developer Volocopter has now been cleared to fly at the games. The battery-powered eVTOL aircraft can travel up to 68 mph with a take-off capacity of 2,000 pounds. Articles state that flights are allowed to take place from 8 am until 5 pm each day, with a limit of two flights per hour and a total of up to 900 flights.
As the Paris 2024 Olympics in now underway, the focus on sustainable air travel is a testament to the growing recognition of environmental impact and responsibilities industry-wide. The measures being implemented reflect a commitment to making this iconic event not just a celebration of athletic excellence, but also a milestone in the journey towards a more sustainable future. By leveraging technology and innovation, the Paris 2024 Olympics will amplify the conversation of sustainability across more industries, with a shared goal of reducing our impact on the planet.
Celebrating Paris 2024
Given the international flavour of the Olympics and the fact we support over 300 airlines globally with our lighting systems, we wanted to celebrate this fantastic event in STG style. Ever keen to showcase our awesome products while supporting our Great Britain team (Team GB), our Designer Megan King, came up with novel ways of celebrating Paris 2024:
- Going for gold – for Paris 2024 the medals have been designed to incorporate a piece of the Eiffel Tower and reflect its iconic structure. We were inspired to recreate the Paris Olympics gold medal with all the daylight colours of saf-Tglo® SSUL-X™ emergency exit marking.
- Sustainability– to celebrate the Olympics sustainability focus, we used the recycled material from our new saf-Tglo® eco E1™ emergency exit marking to make the Team GB Lion emblem.
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See our Team GB Olympic inspired custom designs of saf-Tglo® emergency exit marking, in our patented blue glow. You too can have a floor path marking system that celebrates your brand or matches your carpet design with our BrandMatch™ and PatternMatch™ options.
To learn more about our emergency floor path marking products please see Emergency Floor Path Marking | STG Aerospace or to discuss potential customised options contact us at info@stgaerospace.com.