The volunteer process for Paris 2024 has opened: there will be 45 thousand selected, but they expect twice as many applicants

It is often said that without volunteers, there are no Olympic Games. And once again, this maxim became clear when the enormous number of vacancies that Paris 2024 will fill to host the event was announced: 45 thousand places, spread over 30 thousand for the Olympic Games and 15 thousand for the Paralympic Games. There are three basic conditions for becoming candidates through the official Paris 2024 website: volunteers must be at least 18 years old on January 1, 2024, they must speak French or English at least and must be available for at least 10 days during the duration of the Olympic or Paralympic Games.

There will be a six week window to apply -from Wednesday, March 22 to May 3- and the organization will take until September of this year to evaluate the candidates. It is done through the official website of Paris 2024 and filling out the form takes between 35 to 45 minutes.

“We are all welcomed by volunteers in the world of sports. They will play a fundamental role and will be the face of the Paris 2024 Games,” said Tony Estanguet, president of the Organizing Committee and three-time Olympic champion in slalom canoeing. Estanguet was convinced that the number of candidates will be much higher than those needed, so he regretted and predicted that there will be “a lot of disappointment”.

Estanguet, at a press conference held on Tuesday, also confessed that several former athletes contacted each other interested in being part of the Olympic Games as volunteers: “We have more than 50 athletes who have told us ‘I was an athlete and I want to give back by being part of this beautiful party’, he said. One of the cases is that of the French Olympic champion Pierre Durand, who won the individual jumping event in Seoul 1988, who had already made himself available to volunteer for Paris 2024. For him, it’s a role that goes far beyond the organization of the Games.

In addition, the Organizing Committee clarified that those selected will have an official uniform and will be paid one meal a day and transportation to the place where they have to perform their duties. However, they will not be remunerated or hosted by the organization, so they must pay for the trip to Paris or the headquarters where they perform their function and the accommodation during those days.

Regarding the existence of restrictions for Russians and Belarusians who hope to become one of the 45,000 selected, Alexandre Morenon-Condé, director of the Volunteer Program, said: “The volunteer program is open to everyone, no exceptions are made.” Morenon-Condé added that although Paris is the city that will demand the most volunteers, there will be five thousand roles in satellite locations such as Lille or Marseille.