The biggest, most prestigious, sporting show on the planet, a revered stage every athlete dreams of—the Olympic Games—has transformed the city of Paris with vigour and anticipation coursing through the cobbled streets and grand boulevards. Returning to the French capital after an entire century, the Paris Olympics 2024 are set to commence on July 26 and unfold through August 11, 2024. The Paralympic Games 2024 will follow soon after, taking place between August 28 and September 8, 2024. 

It is important for us to say, especially in these times of crises, that we open our arms and welcome everyone. I think the design we created reflects this. – Joachim Roncin

Thousands of global sports enthusiasts have their eyes peeled for exceptional performances of physical and mental fitness and determination by the soon-to-be Paris 2024 Olympians and Paralympians. Beyond the arduous competition, what defines the events is the myriad of emblems, illustrations and objects that represent it—the iconic five rings being one example. To pore over the envisioned look and identity of the Games, STIR sits down with Joachim Roncin, Director of Design at Paris 2024; the conversation traces the concealed thoughts fuelling the design of Paris 2024—the logos, torches, medals, podiums, posters, graphic design and mascots—and what they strive to communicate. “Our motto is Games Wide Open—to be open to the Olympics, the Paralympics and the world,” Roncin tells STIR. “It is a way of saying that Paris is opening up to the world,” he adds.

Olympics and Paralympics: the whole picture

“The discussion revolved around the fact that the Olympics and the Paralympics should be equal; it is all a matter of sports and performing as an athlete,” Roncin talks about the initial ideas behind the identity of Paris 2024. This commitment to reiterating the common vision and shared ambition of the two esteemed sporting events culminated in a common emblem, for the first time in history. The logo design marks the coming together of three celebrated symbols that befittingly express the values of the Paris 2024 project: the medal, the flame and Marianne. The medal, a coveted sporting recognition, speaks of the essence of sports: striving for excellence. It is a tribute to the Olympic and Paralympic athletes, the heart of the Games. The flame, as old as the Games, represents the Olympic and Paralympic movement—an unparalleled energy that brings people together. Lastly, Marianne is evocative of France, the host country for Paris 2024. The feminine features embody a revolutionary spirit while paying homage to history and female athletes.

Expanding on the concept behind the emblem, Roncin shares, “We are overwhelmed with signs, advertisements and commercials everywhere. We wanted something very simple but with a French touch.” Beyond the emblem, the looks of the two Games are created to be largely similar as well. The torch, medals, mascots, posters and pictograms will also be shared between the two events. However, the two competitions will retain their history and distinctive character that delineates them.

Rituals through a contemporary lens

The Olympic Flame, a sacred fire first lit in ancient Greece, has endured the test of time and continues to be an intrinsic ritual heralding the start of every Olympic and Paralympic Games. Whether it is the lighting of the flame in Olympia, Greece, before the Games or the Olympic torch relay, the torch emerges as a symbolic ritualistic object—a new vision realised every four years. For Paris 2024, French designer Mathieu Lehanneur was commissioned with the creation of the Olympic and Paralympic torches and cauldrons.

The radiant torch design draws inspiration from three themes of Paris 2024: Equality, Water And Peacefulness. Through its symmetrical design, the torch expresses dedication to parity, highlighting equal participation by male and female athletes in the competitions for the first time. The water of the Seine and the oceans the torch will travel guides the waves on the sleek metallic surface. Its rounded silhouette reflects gentleness and solidarity—a call for the unity of people and nations that the Games stand for. ArcelorMittal, a pioneering steel company, will produce 2000 torches for Paris 2024, five times less than the previous editions, aiming to reduce the carbon footprint of the production.

The discussion revolved around the fact that the Olympics and the Paralympics should be equal; it is all a matter of sports and performing as an athlete. – Joachim Roncin

Joy and vibrance

One of the primary goals of the design team of Paris 2024 was to mirror the vibrancy of the city in the designs. This joy comes across lucidly in the animated posters by French cartoonist Ugo Gattoni. “We are one of the first editions that bring sports outside of the arena—it’s a confrontation between sports and the city,” Roncin explains. “So Ugo created this sports arena with Paris which is exactly the project of Paris 2024,” he adds. Presented as a diptych, the two posters—one Olympic poster and a Paralympic poster—can be viewed independently but to comprehend the whole picture, must be grouped. A composition brimming with details, a result of nearly 2000-hour-long meticulous work, the posters morph Paris into a surreal stadium city, a nod to the Paris 2024 slogan, Games Wide Open. The striking urban picture reveals prominent symbols of Paris and France (the Eiffel Tower, Marianne, the Arc de Triomphe and the Seine amongst others) and over 40 Olympic and Paralympic sports upon a closer look.

Reinterpreting the cliches of Paris

When one thinks of Paris, the illustrious image of the soaring Eiffel Tower is inescapable, so much so that it has become trite. In the conversation with STIR, Roncin notes how the monument continues to hold sway as a design motif, “The Eiffel Tower is something iconic but it also became so cliched for French culture. We had to pay homage to the structure but in the right way.” The medals for the Paris 2024 Games encapsulate this signature element of Paris, quite literally. Each medallist will be honoured with a piece of original iron from the Eiffel Tower secured at the heart of their medal. To conceive this unprecedented design, Paris 2024 collaborated with the Paris 2024 Athletes' Commission and Chaumet, an LVMH Group company.

The podium, akin to the medals, is a symbol of performance and celebration—the design team, hence, aimed to create continuity between the two. The design of the Olympic and Paralympic podiums takes cues from the metal lace of the Eiffel Tower, a recurring pattern across Gustave Eiffel’s work. The lines and curves on the podium surface are reminiscent of the metal arches while the grey tone alludes to the renowned Parisian rooftops. The modular design with interlocking modules for different configurations facilitates production in limited numbers. The Paralympic podium features a single-level configuration—lateral ramps with a slight incline ensure accessibility. The podiums are manufactured in France using French wood and 100 per cent recycled plastic waste.

Inclusivity, representation and sustainability

The Paris 2024 Games will be the first edition to showcase equal participation by male and female athletes; parity and inclusivity are central to the ethos of the event. “It was difficult for an event like Paris 2024 to promote equality and parity between men and women, with the pictograms as men,” Roncin tells STIR. The pictograms underwent a due stylistic makeover, renouncing any representation of athletes and concentrating instead on the characteristics of each sport. The process yielded 62 gender-fluid pictograms of the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines conceived in the form of coats of arms.

Across interventions, what also comes to the fore is strides towards sustainability—whether it is in the reduction of production number or utilisation of alternative sustainable materials. A similar effort extends to the look of the Games for the Olympics and the Paralympics. Departing from the convention of two separate looks of the Games—and the associated waste creation—Paris 2024 develops a format both events can share. “We created a look of the Games that could be transferred from one event to the other. It is a system of bricks, the only thing we are going to change between the Olympics and the Paralympics is the logo,” Roncin shares.

Our motto is Games Wide Open—to be open to the Olympics, the Paralympics and the world. – Joachim Roncin

Ouvrons grand les Jeux

Paris 2024 echoes the message of Games Wide Open or Ouvrons grand les Jeux in French; it stands for inclusivity, equality and gender parity. This edition also aspires to bridge the persisting rift between the Olympics and the Paralympics, hoping to change attitudes towards disability and presenting the two events as they are—two sides of the same coin. It is only imminent that the identity of the Games expands on these tenets. The sleek torch, the joyous posters, the laconic logo and the evocative medals and podiums, all with their minute details and nuances, invite the viewers to pause for a moment and unravel them. Together, the Games and their identity resound in unison, calling for openness and celebration while taking a bow to Paris. Summing up Paris 2024’s creative pursuits, Roncin states, “It is important for us to say, especially in these times of crises, that we open our arms and welcome everyone. I think the design we created reflects this.”

Paris 2024: Explore STIR's extensive coverage of the Olympic and Paralympic Games through features, insider interviews, and thoughtful insights across architecture, design and art, to find out how the global sporting event engages the French capital across these creative avenues and beyond.