Paris2024: Recap of Olympic Events & Activities Plus With Details On How I Was Able To Snag The Tickets

Most Recently Updated August 6, 2026

Here’s how I managed to spend only $762.80 for my Paris2024 tickets including seeing Noah Lyles win the 100M race in thrilling fashion during an Athletics medals session, watching Casper Rudd courtside at Roland Garros, attending a beach volleyball session with a seat directly across from the Eiffel Tower (and only 6 rows from the action) and experiencing the excitement live with the US Women’s National Team beat Japan in a women’s football semifinal match (again with a seat 6 rows back from the field)!

Quick note before I dive in, unfortunately this cannot serve as a blueprint for you and the LA28 Olympics with the 24% service fee being assessed on their ticket sales along with the 12 ticket maximum =(

Quick Overview of My Paris2024 Tickets Buying Experience

This is a general overview with more details when I show for each sport how I got the ticket, how much I paid and what the event was like in the next section.

Paris2024 Tickets Draws

I missed the original registration period that happened from December 1, 2022 through January 31, 2023 with time slots beginning February 15, 2023 for access to sale of multi-ticket packs for 48 hours.

A second ticket draw registration period was opened for the single ticket sales phase, with winners being notified by email beginning May 9, 2023.

• I registered for this draw on April 19, 2023
• On May 12, 2023, I was notified that I was successful in that draw and could start purchasing tickets! There were a variety of tickets to choose from but some events like Women’s Gymnastics were nowhere to be found. Ultimately I decided against purchasing any tickets since I could not find affordable accomodations
• Honestly, I figured that it was a lost cause at that point and went on planning the rest of my travels for the summer.

Paris2024 Last Minute Tickets

Paris2024 began to release ‘last minute tickets sales’ on their official ticketing site about a month before the games began every Thursday at 10 AM (local time).

About a week and half before the games began, they began to release daily on the site. I can positively confirm at that time, the tickets were issued with seating information as that’s when I bought a couple of my event tickets.

On the official re-sale site (once the original tickets were issued), those last-minute re-sale tickets did include seating information.

Pros for this approach is that if you are like me and highly value where you are seated, this allows you to make informed decisions. BUT getting seating info doesn’t always give you a full picture of where the seats are located. How and why can that be true? With new stadiums, there’s no previous seat map to help guide you which was my issue with Beach Volleyball tickets and wanting a seat with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Note that for LA28, SoFi will be transformed to 2028 Stadium. But even for Athletics, where they would stage all events wasn’t clear until the first preliminaries rounds started and I could ask those who had attended for guidance!

There are of course cons to waiting for last minute tickets as it requires quite a bit of luck such as if tickets will be released and then being able to snag them first. For example, I thought I had been successful in getting Women’s Artistic Gymnastics on a couple of occasions but my slight hesitation over the ticket category/price allowed someone else to put it in their cart first!

The Paris2024 Official and Resale Ticket Sale Sites

It can’t be stressed enough how ticket prices remained reasonable because Paris2024 took great pains to ensure that they would! Buyers were accessed a 1.5% processing fee on ticket sales.

Such as when tickets were released as last minute ticket sales, the ticket pricing remained unchanged VS the dynamic pricing model typically used in the US (which sadly LA28 has NOT ruled out happening for the next Olympic Games =/ )

And as importantly, the resale market was kept in check by having resale tickets sold on an official, controlled resale site. A few important things there of note for the resale site were: tickets were sold at their original ticket price with an added 10% service fee if you were buying and added 5% service fee if you were selling.

This was not seamless as the sites (official and resale) were often slow but I have dealt with that for other ticket sales (haha Taylor Swift and Ticketmaster come to mind) and was definitely easier to find tickets on these than on FIFA’s official World Cup 26 ticketing site.

Most importantly, I would take the small hiccups on the Paris2024 sites and their tickets prices compared to the inflated prices I have paid for concert tickets and other sporting events bought on reseller site. I am sure ticket prices would have been 2 – 10X what I paid if Paris2024 organizers had not controlled tickets sales so tightly. A small inconvenience that was mildly annoying but absolutely worth it, I likely would not have attended most events or maybe not have even gone to the Olympics at all!

My Paris2024 Olympics Experience

How I Ended Up Going

Demand for Paris2024 ended up being less than anticipated so hotels began opening up award availability – meaning that I would be able to book hotel nights on points!

That also meant that quite a number of tickets were becoming in the last minute tickets drops, so I decided to go only 10 days before I landed in Paris! Read about how I was able to do this wanderlist trip here with detailed information on my total spend in cash, miles and points for the entire 13 day trip!

Note: two of the biggest reasons why I won’t be able to duplicate my success for the LA28 games is 1: the 24% service fee and #2: the news that LA28 will allow tickets to be listed on other re-sale sites which will push prices higher in general which will go along with those selling wanting to recoup their 24% in fees. And that’s before knowing if dynamic pricing will take effect…

Paris2024 Events Total

Again costs were so low here as Paris2024 actively kept ticket prices and fees reasonable so I really lucked out with some incredible last minute seats to a few amazing events!

Oops – Here’s What My True Total Spend on Paris2024 Tickets + Events Was

Ha! I didn’t feel like recreating that spreadsheet but my true total for my Paris2024 tickets was actually $733.80 or $70.87 more

Additional Fees With Reselling Some Tickets

These are the fees that I incurred from buying and selling some tickets via the Official Paris2024 Sales + Resale Sites

• $8.81 $132.75/€121.80 (last minute ticket + 1.5% processing fee) – $123.94/€114 (sold on resale site + 5% service fee for selling)
  • Women’s + Men’s Beach Volleyball – Round of 16 @ Stade Tour Eiffel : CATEGORY A Ticket
  • I ended up with a couple of beach volleyball tickets but opted to attend one session and chose the one that had the MOST incredible seat
• $19.57 $325.80/€299.42 (last minute ticket + 1.5% processing fee) – $306.23/€280.25 (sold on resale site + 5% service fee for selling)
  • Athletics – Finals/Medals Session at Stade de France : CATEGORY C Ticket
  • I sold the first Athletics ticket I bought when a better seat became available
• $14.67 $215.27/€198 (resale ticket + 10% service fee to buy) – €85.50/$89.84 (sold on resale site + 5% service fee for selling)
  • Tennis – 5 matches @ / Roland Garros : CATEGORY A Ticket
  • One of those situations when the tickets being sold was only available as a pair so I bought both as Tennis tickets are super hard to get plus the seats were so good. I re-sold the other ticket that I did not need

Commemorative/Souvenir Tickets

$27.82/€24.94: Paris2024 offered souvenir paper tickets that were €2.99 each along with a €9.99 souvenir ticket delivery fee.

Concorde Urban Project

How I Got The Concorde Urban Project Ticket + Spend Breakdown

Bought as a last minute ticket from the Paris2024 ticket site the day of the session – about an hour before it started. This was a really popular event since it was so affordable and ended up being the last paid event I went to.

$26.71/€24.36 including the 1.5% processing fee for a General Admission Ticket

What Attending The Concorde Urban Project Was Like

Another amazing use of Paris landmarks as backdrop to the Games. This was the first time all urban events – 3×3 basketball, BMX freestyle, breaking and skateboarding took place at the same location, Place de la Concorde.

While this ticket did not get me access to ticketed events, I was able to see demonstrations and had solid views of some of the events – just not an actual seat.

Men’s Water Polo @ Center Aquatique

How I Got The Men’s Water Polo Ticket + Spend Breakdown

Bought from the Paris2024 official resale ticket site a couple of days before the session right before I got to Paris. This was the first event that I went to at the games.

$41.85/€38.50 including the 10% service fee for a Category C Ticket – €35 (original ticket price) + €3.50 (10% service fee for buyers of resale ticket)

What Attending The Two Men’s Water Polo Matches Was Like

When even the walk to and the building the event takes place in nails it on the design front.

While I love to watch water polo because the athleticism on display is off the charts for me – how do they manage to sprint-swim like that or launch out of the water the water to take shots like that?? I will be honest, I also really don’t really get the sport because in so many ways it seems like the tactic is that they are trying to dunk/drown each other?

Highlights included watching the US team (who ended the games with the Bronze medal!) and the US goalkeeper scoring a full length of the pool goal at the buzzer! And then later watched Serbia (who ended up being three time Olympic gold medalists) battle Espana (who was on a hot steak).

While the seat was definitely in the nosebleed section (I was maybe 10 rows from the very top?), it was such a blast to attend. I ended up next to a group of friends and ended up having an incredible conversation with one women about so many things ranging from healthcare in our respective countries (she’s in the industry back in the UK), other Olympics specifically London, politics, love to the meaning of life!

Tennis @ Roland Garros: $122.31 (5 Matches: 3x Round 3 + 2x Quarterfinals)

How I Got The Tennis Ticket + Spend Breakdown

One of those situations when the tickets being sold was only available as a pair so I bought both as Tennis tickets are super hard to get plus the seats were so good. I re-sold the other ticket that I did not need

$107.64/€99 including the 10% service fee for a Category A Ticket – €99 (original ticket price) + €9 (10% service fee for buyers of resale ticket)

What Attending 5!! Tennis Matches At Roland Garros Was Like

Some of the highlights

• While attending the French Open is still on my wanderlist, I was so happy to see some matches at Roland Garros (Top left and Top middle)
• All of the matches that were happening at that court that day! (Middle Left)
• Seeing some BTS with tennis rackets being strung (Top Right)
• Having a rain delay and getting to watch the grounds crew work their magic (Middle right)
• An upset by Auger-Aliassime over Medvedev who was hilariously true to form with his complaining (Bottom left)
• Seeing and being so close to Casper Ruud (Bottom middle)

Women’s Football Quarter-finals Match @ Parq des Princes

How I Got The Women’s Football Ticket + Spend Breakdown

One of my friends was super lucky in getting a bunch of free tickets for Paris2024 and snagged this ticket for me! Yes – it was free and given to us by a local whose friend wasn’t able to make it.

What Attending The Women’s Football Semifinals Match Was Like

I lucked out with not only being able to see the US Women’s football team beat Japan in the quarter-finals on their way to gold AND from a seat only six rows back from the field and action in addition to the ticket being gifted!!

Beach Volleyball @ Stade Tour Eiffel – Women’s + Men’s Round of 16

How I Got The Beach Volleyball Tickets + Spend Breakdown

These were the first tickets that I bought for the Games and only a week before I ended up in Paris. This is when Paris2024 was dropping last minute tickets once a day before the Olympics started with this event being 10 days out.

$132.75/€121.80 including the 1.5% processing fee for a Category A Ticket

What Attending The Beach Volleyball @ Eiffel Tower Stadium Was Like

Paris2024 will be hard to top with pop up stadiums like this – Eiffel Tower in the background for Beach Volleyball

Some of the highlights

• The first of my “you know the seat is good based on where the TV cameras are – for this event it’s when there’s no one behind you because that’s where they’re located”.
• Six rows back from the action and DIRECTLY across from the Eiffel Tower.
• Breakfast with the Eiffel Tower in the background never gets old (Top Left)
• Before the matches, you were able to watch the teams warm up (Top middle)
• Women’s match was exciting with so many set points but the Swiss prevailed over the Chinese teams (Middle middle + Middle right)
• Such a cool locale but also Beach volleyball is just fun to watch and being in the stands amps up the experience: the crowd gets into the music being played between points (when it goes to commercial or cuts to other events if you’re watching on TV)

Athletics (Track and Field) @ Stade de France: $327.18 – Epic night is an understatment!

How I Got The Athletics Ticket + Spend Breakdown

I originally bought another Athletics Category C ticket on the same day as the Beach Volleyball tickets. But I kept scouring the last minute tickets to see if I could snag a better seat and this one popped up. My seat was on the railing above club level which was directly over the section where the TV cameras were – which made this an extraordinarily high valued category C ticket (making it worth it to eat the resale cost for my first ticket)

$327.18/€299.42 including the 1.5% processing fee for a Category C Ticket

What Attending This Athletics Event Was Like (Events such as Men’s 100 M Heats, Semis and Final / Women’s High Jump Final / Men’s 1500M Semi-finals!!)

Some of the highlights

• My seat was on the railing above club level which was directly over the section where the cameras were
  • And ended up seating next to someone who had competed at the 2004 Olympics for the US team 🤯 who was able to give me some very cool insight into the behind the scenes for what happens from an athlete’s perspective!!
• I had no idea that there would be medal ceremonies for the previous night events which was very cool to witness
  • Top Middle pic of Sha’carri Richardson getting her silver for the Women’s 100M)
• Some of the evening’s events not pictured here: Men’s 400M round 1, Women’s 800 semis
• Ethan Katzberg of Canada took home the Men’s hammer throw Gold that evening (and I learned how the hammers are safely transported by RC cars) – TR photo
• Men’s 1500 semifinals esp crazy considering how that final turned out! (Middle Right pic)
  • Fun fact: Josh Kerr is the third from the front in that photo and he just broke the 27-year-old mile world record in 2026
• Two nail biter events: first with the Women’s high jump finals
  • Nicola Olyslagers from Australia is so joyful and so fun to watch. Plus props to her for showcasing mental health: she journals after every jump as seen in the Middle left photo
  • Yaroslava Mahuchikh from Ukraine continued her domination in the event with a gold (Middle center pic).
• And then there was the marque event: Men’s 100M semis and finals were so incredible to watch and lived up to the hype
  • The bottom left photo is a still taken from the video I shot on an iPhone of the too close to call finish of the Men’s 100M
  • So incredible to watch Noah Lyles and happy to see him take home the gold and ringing the bell

Free Paris2024 Events & Activities

Champions Parade @ Champion’s Park / Cost: FREE

Paris definitely made incredible use of its famous landmarks, no? Eiffel Tower is prominently centered at one end of Champions Park!

The photo montage above is from the Champions Parade that was held most days – basically this is where you got to celebrate the previous days’ medal winners!

Paris2024 was the first time that a host city had done something like this so fingers crossed that LA28 does something similar!

Olympic Watch Parties (Live Screening of Finals) @ Champion’s Park / Cost: FREE

The energy and excitement of the crowd amplifies watch parties! And the setting was pretty spectacular.

Paris2024 Cauldron (Along with the Eiffel Tower With Olympic Rings)

The tickets to see this up close (top left) sold out immediately but since it was so large, I was able to see it whilst wandering about. It didn’t matter if it was during the day or at night or at sunset (when it was cast up), it was always so awe inspiring to see

Free Souvenirs & Pin Trading

Olympic Hospitality Houses / Cost: FREE up to €325 (ofc that would be the US pavilion)

Final Thoughts

The Paris2024 Olympics were literally a dream come true for me and I am still in awe that I was able to do, see and experience so much and so grateful that Paris2024 was so thoughtful and deliberate in their planning and execution – especially around ticket pricing.

The craziest part might just be that I I managed to spend less than €1,500/$1,620 IN TOTAL for a 13 day Paris2024 trip as I was hoping to spend €1,500 on Olympic events tickets (with a very large * that I would spend up to another €1K to see Simone Biles)!