Paris 2024 Olympic Games Kicks Off Amid Concerns Over Human Rights
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games officially started with an opening ceremony across Friday on the River Seine. Athletes from 206 countries across the globe will attend the world’s most important sports event in France’s capital city.
Nearly 11,000 athletes will be competing for medals in the 33rd Olympic games this summer in Paris from across the world. Each of the Olympians gathering in Paris this summer will add to the long history of the Olympics, which have been played every four years since 1896 (except 1916 due to World War I, 1940 and 1944 due to World War II and 2020 due to COVID-19). Paris has hosted the Olympics twice before in 1900 and 1924.
A staggering 13 million tickets have been sold for sports enthusiasts to cheer their teams and sports representatives in this spectacular event, while an estimated 3 billion viewers will be watching the competitions from the comfort of their homes or gatherings back home.
While Paris is the main host city, events will be held in 16 other cities across metropolitan France. The surfing competition, however, will be the most unique – taking place in the French territory of Tahiti, on the Pacific Ocean’s legendary Teahupo’o waves. Located 15,000km (9,320 miles) away from Paris, the surfing venue will break the record for the furthest medal competition staged outside a host Olympic city.
There will be 32 sports this year and 329 medal events taking place in 41 arenas across France. As a result, 5,084 medals have been produced, using 18 grams of iron from the Eiffel Tower. The United States has the largest Olympic contingent with more than 630 athletes. Host nation France follows with about 590 athletes, and Australia is next with about 470 athletes.
Many Muslim athletes from across the globe will also participate to bring honour to their representing nations. However, at the 2024 Olympic Games, the host country France has banned Muslim women from wearing a sports hijab or any other form of religious headgear when they compete for France. Such a ban, criticized recently by Amnesty International, is imposed in several sports in France, including football, basketball and volleyball, in competitions at all levels, including youth and amateur ones.
The Freemuslim Association, an anti-violence organization, has strongly censured the decision by the French authorities, stating that this discriminatory measure represents a blatant violation of internationally guaranteed freedoms.
For 20 years, French authorities have embarked on a relentless campaign of harmful lawmaking and regulation of Muslim women’s and girls’ clothing, fuelled by prejudice and deepening gendered discrimination towards Muslim women and girls, and those perceived as Muslim.
Last year, a group of sports federations from Muslim-majority countries said that France’s move to bar its Olympic athletes from wearing the hijab would “send a message of exclusion”. The 57-member Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF) voiced “profound concern” over the French decision, which was taken in line with the country’s strict rules on secularism.
It is worth mentioning that, ahead of the 2024 Olympics, Paris authorities relocated hundreds of migrants and homeless individuals to temporary shelters, sparking criticism of “social cleansing.” Many affected, including families from African nations, express uncertainty about their future. Activists argue the government’s actions prioritize tourist interests over vulnerable populations.
