Olympics and Paralympics on an equal footing? “Not so much”

The Paris 2024 logo, representing the Olympic and Paralympic Games. GETTY IMAGES

Paris 2024 boasts that it will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games on an equal footing. The village for both events will be the same, they will be held under the same logo, the mascot is almost identical -the Paralympic mascot has a prosthesis to represent its athletes – the medals are also the same, the ticketing system, transport and TV coverage are the same, but not everything will be the same.

The Paris 2024 Executive Board has confirmed the relocation of the Main Press Centre (MPC) for the Paralympic Games. Previously planned for a temporary facility adjacent to the Olympic Aquatics Centre, the MPC will now be located at the Pulse, the Paris 2024 venue in Saint-Denis.

This decision was taken with “an approach based on simplification and value for money that has guided the Organising Committee and its stakeholders from the outset”, according to the Paris 2024 Executive Board. The site originally proposed for the Paralympic Games PMC would have required additional work to adapt the space identified.

“With this decision, the media will be able to work at the heart of the Paris 2024 operation. The Pulse, which already houses the Main Operations Centre (MOC) for the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, is a bright and fully accessible venue with catering facilities and the capacity to host press conferences, as well as the advantage of being directly linked to public transport,” the statement said.

The location of the MWC at Pulse during the Paralympic Games will allow the Organising Committee to improve operational efficiency and optimise its budget.  The Olympic Games PMC will be located at the Palais des Congrès de Paris, Porte Maillot.

Luis Leardy, former Seoul 1988 quadruple medallist and Communications Director of the Spanish Paralympic Committee, wrote in X: “Paris 2024 Paralympic journalists won’t work under the same conditions as Olympic journalists. Equality between the Olympic and Paralympic Games? Not so much”.



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