Let’s Manifest for LA28! Here’s All of The Free Things You Could Do During Paris2024 Summer Olympics

One thing Paris2024 taught me is that you don’t need a full schedule of competition tickets to have an amazing Olympic trip.

If you can get tickets to even one event that is within your budget, fantastic! So don’t think your trip is ruined if you aren’t inside an Olympic venue every day.

And I know people that went to Paris to be in the city during that time and didn’t attend any events and still others who went to World Cup 26 host cities without attending matches and they all had a great time. They were able to enjoy the Olympic or World Cup vibes without breaking their budgets.

One of my favorite parts about the Paris2024 Olympics was that going to a few of these free events were honestly as fun to experience as attending the actual Olympic Games! Let’s jump in and see how that could possibly be true.

Champions Parade @ Champion’s Park

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

There are many reasons why this Olympics was so special but this was the event that embodied the spirit behind and thoughtfulness behind Paris2024.

First you have how Paris incorporated the city as part of the Games and how the famous monuments helped set the Olympic tone. Such as placing Champions Park in Trocadéro Gardens with the Eiffel Tower (adorned with the Olympic rings) serving as the most incredible backdrop for the scene (Middle row middle photo and bottom right pic)

Then of course, there are the Olympic athletes. What an incredible experience for the medal winners after years of hard work and dedication paying off to be able to participate in a Champion’s Parade: where they are cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd and end up posing for photos with their medals with that incredible Eiffel Tower background!

It was really such a thoughtful thing to put on as it allowed the athletes a chance and some time to really celebrate and enjoy the Olympics whilst still in Paris.

And not to be forgotten, the spectators. This was a completely free event (with the capacity control being the limiting factor) where one could come cheer on and offer congratulations to some of Paris2024’s biggest stars! Oh and as a bonus, many of them would hi-five and/or take selfies with the crowd as they walked down the catwalk as seen in the middle left photo!!

The day that I was able to get in with my friend, the opening show was Mourad Merzouki’s hip-hop parade featuring thirty dancers and urban artists (top middle pic) who were incredibly athletic in their own right.

Novak Djokovic was there and it was so interesting to hear him talk about how winning the gold medal and representing Serbia was more meaningful to him than anything else he had done and was the greatest achievement of his very illustrious career (and tbh, I’m not a Djokovic fan but I was really moved hearing him talk about his Olympics experience)!

We also watched a majority-French crowd cheer on their beloved mixed Judo gold medal winning team (bottom left)

Seriously one of the coolest sport-related events I have been to (free or not)!

Olympic Watch Parties (Live Screening of Main Finals) @ Champion’s Park

One of my favorite ways to watch sports is at large, public viewing parties and Paris2024 had their largest one at the same Champion’s Park!

On the couple of evenings I was here, the crowd and vibes were absolutely electric! This venue allowed you to meet and connect with people from all around the world whilst watching the action and again, the Eiffel Tower background is *chef’s kiss*

I was able to watch and cheer for Simone Biles as she won the Women’s Gymnastics All-Around gold medal from the second best place besides the venues or maybe the best for many since this was free?!

Paris2024 Cauldron/Olympic Torch

Designed by ⁠Mathieu Lehanneur, the Paris 2024 Olympic cauldron consisted of a 7-metre (23 ft) diameter ring suspended from a 30-meter-tall (98-foot) helium-filled balloon. Its design was designed to pay homage to the Scientific Revolution, the Age of Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries and the Montgolfier brothers’ first human flight using a hot air balloon.

The Paris 2024 Olympic cauldron was the first in Olympic history to burn without any fossil fuel, operating instead as a 100% electric illusion made of water vapor and LED light. Another first with the cauldron being stationary during the day but would ascend 60 meters into the Paris sky every evening!

The tickets to see this up close (top left and middle) 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.

I always stopped to marvel at it and really loved watching how others would have that same feeling of wonder and awe when they caught sight of it.

Free Souvenirs / Pin Trading / Cost: FREE

An iconic part of Olympic history, pin trading has become a sport of its own in many ways. 

There are those that the national Olympic Committees give out (like this one from Team USA) along with those from companies that you can play for – and if you have extras, you trade them for those that you do not.

While there were a few places around Paris that were giving out souvenirs (mainly pins), the most popular by far was Samsung’s pop-up experience where one could play different games and challenges for a chance to win pins…and more!

Per Samsung “The 16 innovative and highly collectible Samsung Olympic Games Pins were designed by French illustrator Jean André and made from recycled aluminum from Galaxy smartphones, Eleven Classic Pins represent four Olympic sports — breaking, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing — and four Paralympic sports — blind football, para athletics, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis. In addition, there are four Special Pins with three-dimensional Parisian landmarks and the Golden Pin

Each Samsung Olympic Games Pin Master who collects all 16 pins will receive a new Galaxy Z Flip6 and a chance to win a round-trip package for two to attend the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics.”

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

Quite a few national Olympic Committees set up hospitality houses to celebrate their athletes and showcase their country’s culture and heritage.

They were found all around Paris but there were 15 hospitality houses at the Parc des Nations @ Parc de la Villette including Club France.

South Africa’s hospitality house used the opportunity to introduce visitors to artists, artisans, textiles and art from around the country.

Slovenia’s house was focused on the nature experiences that one could enjoy when visiting their country.

While others like Colombia’s featured cuisine authentic to their country along with places that you could hang and watch the Games.

No surprise that I hadn’t done my research to book a ticket to Club France and wasn’t able to get in

Final Thoughts

Just being in the city during the Paris2024 Games was so much fun (and the same was true for me when I was in Vancouver and Kansas City for World Cup 26). There’s excitement and celebration in the air so don’t overspend thinking that the ONLY way to experience the Olympics is by attending the most popular sporting events or getting the best seats.

AND seriously don’t look at this next section and the linked post if LA28 ticket prices are already giving you the blues – this will cause them to give you the ick.

Curious What I Spent on Tickets To Paris2024 Events?

Costs were so low here as Paris2024 actively kept ticket prices and fees reasonable such as there was a lot of nuance and thought about how pricing was done between different sports and their finals along with pretty low fees (1.5% processing fee + 5 – 10% service fees for tickets bought through the official resale site)

I really lucked out with some incredible last minute seats and was able to keep my spend really low because of those low fees.

My total spend on the Games was actually $736.40 as I did buy and sell some tickets (ie I originally purchased multiple beach volleyball sessions but kept only the one with the incredible seat and likewise ended up selling the first athletics Athletics ticket I bought when a better seat became available)

Last part of the extra $ spend was that I did buy the commemorative paper tickets for my events.