The Olympic Games, held every four years, will take place in Paris, France, from July 26 to August 11 this year, marking the return to Paris after 100 years since the 8th Summer Olympics in 1924.
The design of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games emblem is unique and ingenious. It not only highlights the glory of the Olympic gold medal and the passion of the Olympic flame but also cleverly incorporates the image of Marianne, the national symbol of France, paying tribute to female athletes.
The 2024 Paris Olympic Games emblem is not only the first in Olympic history to incorporate a human face design but also innovatively unifies the emblems of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This innovative move symbolizes the inseparability of the Olympic and Paralympic Games as sports events and their shared noble vision of changing lives through sports.
The official poster for the Paris Olympics was created by renowned French illustrator Ugo Gattoni, who spent four months and dedicated 2,000 hours to complete this masterpiece. The poster is filled with rich details, including various characters, objects, and buildings, set against a city constructed from sports venues, representing a vibrant and multicultural world city, showcasing the spectacular scene of Paris being fully occupied by sports.
From the diving board inscribed with the Olympic motto "Citius, Altius, Fortius - Communiter" ("Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together"), the artist's depiction of this utopian city itself is an impressive graphic art: 29 Olympic sports and 18 Paralympic sports are cleverly integrated into various patterns and buildings, showcasing the infinite charm and inclusivity of sports.
Symbols of the Olympic Games (Olympic rings, Olympic motto, medals, etc.)
Symbols of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games (mascot, marathon, boats on the Seine, iconic competition venues, etc.)
Iconic elements representing Paris and France (Eiffel Tower, Seine River, Arc de Triomphe, etc.)
On November 14, 2022, the Paris Organizing Committee officially unveiled the official mascots for the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games - "Phryges." The design inspiration for the mascot "Phryges" comes from the traditional French Phrygian cap (Bonnet Phrygien), which has been cleverly anthropomorphized to make it more lively and interesting.
The Phrygian cap, also known as the liberty cap, was a red cap commonly worn during the French Revolution, characterized by its conical design and forward-pointing tip. Notably, this cap is also the prototype for the headgear of the Smurfs in the well-known animated series.
On February 8, 2023, the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games released a new visual identity and sports icons, which blend the urban spirit of Paris with the cultural heritage of France, influenced by fashion, cuisine, architecture, and history.
"Combining sports with fashion is a significant feature of the graphic design for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games," explained Julie Matikhine, the brand director for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. "Our visual design is based on the slogan 'Sous les pavés, les Jeux' (Under the cobblestones, the Games)."
This slogan originates from "Sous les pavés, la plage!" It not only represents a revolutionary spirit but also provides a complete narrative. Julie Matikhine further explained, "Cobblestones are found in every city and village in France; they symbolize our history."
The sports icons for the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games are affectionately referred to as "Blazons" by Julie Matikhine, the brand director, because their composition resonates with the exquisite graphics found in coats of arms, regarded as "emblems of glory."
The smooth icons from the Tokyo Olympics left a deep impression. The Paris Olympics took a different approach, introducing the first set of Olympic sports icons without athletes.
The design inspiration for the 2024 Paris Olympic torch comes from the ingenuity of French designer Mathieu Lehanneur, who cleverly integrates three major elements. The torch centers around the imagery of "water," echoing the Seine River that flows through Paris, and through symmetrical and curved designs, conveys the Olympic spirit of peace, equality, and unity to the world.
The number of male and female athletes at the Paris Olympics will achieve an unprecedented balance, with each gender accounting for 50%, marking the first time in Olympic history that complete gender equality has been realized. To highlight this important milestone, the designer chose a symmetrical structure to shape the torch, profoundly reflecting the spirit of equality in the Olympics.
The design task for the medals of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games has been entrusted to CHAUMET, a jewelry and luxury watch brand under the LVMH Group.
In this design for the Paris Olympic medals, CHAUMET skillfully merges tradition, sports, and jewelry making, drawing inspiration from three unique themes: hexagons, radiance, and inlay art.
It is well known that the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris has retained some of its original structures during years of maintenance and renovation, all of which have been carefully preserved.
CHAUMET specifically selected the original iron from the Eiffel Tower, cutting it into hexagons and cleverly embedding it into the medals. Thus, each medal contains a piece of iron from the Eiffel Tower in its center, imbuing the medals with a unique memory of Paris, allowing each winning athlete to take this "Paris sentiment" back to their country.
Additionally, the relief lines surrounding the medals resemble rays of sunlight, which is not only an artistic design but also a heartfelt tribute to France's "City of Light."
Red tracks and green lawns—besides these, one rarely sees other colors in sports fields, right? The Paris Olympics will for the first time change the traditionally red and blue track colors to purple, complementing the romantic temperament of the French. It must be said that just looking at this entire expanse of purple evokes thoughts of the lavender fields in Provence, France.
While many media outlets spread information about France's inability to afford air conditioning and the installation of cardboard beds, our country brings air conditioning and installers, along with chefs and mineral water. This indicates a significant cultural difference between China and France; China believes in providing better conditions for athletes to win more gold medals and gain more honors. However, for the French, it is just a competition, and their spending must comply with public scrutiny.
In the Olympic Village, each athlete's bedroom contains a single bed made of two cardboard pieces, with three mattresses woven from fishing nets, and provisions have been made for taller athletes with extended beds. The interior is simply designed to meet the basic living needs of athletes without waste, emphasizing an eco-friendly concept. The cardboard beds that sparked controversy at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics reappear in the Paris Olympic Village, reinforced and upgraded from the original design. After the Olympics, 345,000 pieces of furniture in the Olympic Village will be reused through sales to the second-hand market and donations.
The water cooling system in the Olympic Village will draw water cooled to 4°C from a geothermal power plant located 70 meters underground nearby, and will be delivered through pipes under the floors of each apartment, circulating through the pipes to lower the overall temperature of the buildings, making the indoor temperature 6°C-10°C lower than the outdoor temperature.