Why are some Paris 2024 Olympic events starting before the opening ceremony?

SPORTING fans all across the globe are preparing themselves for the Paris 2024 Olympics which starts this Friday – but events are scheduled to get underway BEFORE the opening ceremony.

Approximately 10,500 athletes representing 206 countries will be competing for medals in Paris.

ReutersBadminton will be the first Olympic event to take place after the opening ceremony[/caption]

Badminton is the first event scheduled after the Seine River spectacle

While the iconic Olympic Games will conclude with a men’s gold medal water polo match.

But fans won’t have to wait until the end of the week to see their countries participate in certain events and SunSport can reveal why.

Why are some Paris 2024 Olympic events starting before the opening ceremony?

Some sporting events take longer than others to complete due to required rest periods which means they have to be contested before the opening ceremony.

This will allow that particular event to finish within the traditional 16-day Olympic time frame.

Another reason why some sports are scheduled to start before the opening ceremony is that the fields have to be shared among events.

An example of this at the Paris 2024 Olympics will be handball and weightlifting.

What events will start before the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony?

Three events will get underway before the opening ceremony.

Football (Wednesday, July 24)

Rugby Sevens (Wednesday, July 24)

Handball (Thursday, July 25)

Archery (Thursday, July 25)

Football has started ahead of the opening ceremony since the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games.

AFPFootball has always started before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games[/caption]

While handball and rugby sevens usually take place on the opening day, but the Paris Games organisers opted to go a little earlier to ensure that the programming remains fluid.