The 2024 Summer Olympic Games are heading to Paris this year, with the Opening Ceremony taking place on July 26. However, events officially kick off a little early on July 24, with the Closing Ceremony on August 11. This year, we’ll see more than 10,000 athletes from 206 countries around the world compete in 329 events.
Breaking, or break dancing, makes its event debut at this year’s Games, and kayak cross is a new part of the canoe slalom. Baseball, softball, and karate were removed from the program for Paris — karate actually only got one Olympics shot in 2020 and then got ditched again this time around.
There will be nonstop action for two weeks, and you won’t want to miss a single second of it. There’s so much to take in, though! Ahead, we’ve highlighted 10 must-see events that you need to know more about, as well as which live TV streaming services are best for catching all your favorite events.
Where to watch the Olympics
This year, Peacock is your best bet for streaming the Olympics. The streaming platform will air all of the Olympic events both live and on-demand, including every single medal ceremony. If you don’t have Peacock, though, you can catch various events on NBC and its cable networks, including USA, E!, and CNBC. Telemundo and Universo will also air some events in Spanish.
| DIRECTV STREAM | Fubo | Hulu + Live TV | Sling TV | YouTube TV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBC | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔* | ✔ |
| USA | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| E! | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| CNBC | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Telemundo | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Universo | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Olympic Triathlon
The triathlon is comprised of three pieces: a 1500m swim, a 40km cycle, and a 10km run. Though triathlons have been taking place for decades, the event wasn’t added to the schedule at the Olympics until Sydney in 2000. No country thus far has been a runaway winner of medals, but Great Britain has taken three, more than any other country. In Paris, athletes will have to swim in the Seine. In the weeks leading up to the Games, Paris has been under fire for how safe it would be for athletes to swim in the Seine because the water is reportedly full of bacteria.
There are rules that the Olympians have to follow during each leg of the race. For example, during the swimming portion, they can use any stroke to make it through the water. During the run, they can walk if they choose; they just can’t crawl. Olympians can also be disqualified if they veer off course, get unfair assistance, hinder another athlete, or do a number of other things on a list of no-nos.
Olympic Trampoline
The trampoline event, which debuted at the Sydney Games in 2000, takes the skills you see in artistic gymnastics and brings them onto a trampoline. In this sport, athletes bounce on a trampoline that’s 16 and a half feet by 9 and a half feet, sending them more than 25 feet in the air, where they flip with precision. They are scored based on skill, height, and landing, and they have to stay within the trampoline frame.
China has dominated this event since it was introduced, taking home 14 of the overall medals awarded. Rosie MacLennan, who represented Canada in the 2012 and 2016 Games, though, is the only Olympian to win back-to-back gold medals in this event.
Olympic Archery
Archery was first seen in the 1900 Olympics in Paris and was staged for the next several Games before the organization removed it from play. It was brought back in 1972. There are five archery events, including the men’s and women’s individual events, men’s and women’s team events, and a mixed team event, which just debuted at the 2020 Tokyo Games. The Republic of Korea has won more medals in the sport than any other country, with 43 overall, with 27 of them being gold.
Archery requires incredible skill and precision. The target is 122cm in diameter, and the athletes stand 70m away to shoot. For the Games, the 64 Olympians competing first shoot 72 arrows to determine their ranking and then play one-on-one according to their seeding. (The No. 1 ranked would play No. 64, etc.) From there, it’s a single-elimination bracket to determine the winners.
Olympic Shooting
Olympic shooting is one of the original events from the first Games in Athens in 1896. It has been staged at every Games since then except for 1904 and 1928. There are currently 15 shooting events, up from five that the sport started with. There are individual events for men and women, as well as mixed team events. Though the U.S. has won the most medals over the years, other countries have made respectable showings, including Russia and Italy.
The 15 events include 10m Air Rifle (men, women, and team), 10m Air Pistol (men, women, and team), Skeet (men, women, and team), 50m Rifle 3 Positions (men and women), 25m Rapid Fire Pistol (men and women), and Trap (men and women). Rifle and pistol events take place on a shooting range, while the shotgun events are outdoors and Olympians are tasked with hitting moving targets. Some events require the athletes to be standing, some are kneeling, some are laying, and some include all. No matter the position, all require great skill at aiming.
Olympic Fencing
Fencing has a long history at the Olympics, being present at the first Games in 1896. Women, however, didn’t get their own event until 1924. Fencing currently has 12 events, for men, women, and the team, and the competitions include three types of weapon (foil, épée, and sabre). In the events, the rules vary for where athletes can strike opponents to score points. In individual events, the first athlete to 15 points in three rounds wins, and in team events, the first team to 45 points (or the team leading when time runs out) wins.
The fencing events will take place at the Grand Palais in Paris. Over the years, Italy has won the most Olympic medals in fencing, taking home 49 gold, 46 silver, and 35 bronze. Italian athlete Nedo Nadi set an Olympic record when he won gold medals in the 1920 Games in individual foil and sabre fencing events and team foil, épée, and sabre fencing events.
Olympic Rowing
Though rowing has been part of the Olympics since the first Games in 1896, the event didn’t actually take place until the second Games in 1900 in Paris. This is because the event was scheduled to take place in the sea in the inaugural games and bad weather prevented it from being held. Thus, it kicked off four years later instead. Women’s events were introduced in 1976.
Men, women, and teams compete in Single Sculls, Coxless Pair, Double Sculls, Coxless Four, Quadruple Sculls, Eight, and Lightweight Double Sculls events. For the event, rowers must cross a 2,000m body of water in their boats. The first boat across the finish line wins the race. The Paris events will be held at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium. The United States has won more rowing medals than any other country — 89 of them! — but plenty of countries have had exceptional athletes compete in the sport, including Romania’s Elisabeta Lipa and Great Britain’s Steve Redgrave.
Olympic Tennis
Tennis has been included in the Olympics on and off since the Games’ inception. It was first played in Athens in 1896 before being pulled out of the program in 1924. There was a disagreement between the International Olympic Committee and the International Lawn Tennis Federation on who should be allowed to compete, so the event wasn’t brought back permanently until 1988 in Seoul.
Tennis at the Olympics looks much like any tennis game you’d watch anywhere else and follows the same rules, scoring system, and elimination system.
Olympic matches will be held at Stade Roland-Garros, the same venue that hosts the French Open. The events include Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. Some of the biggest names in tennis have won Olympic medals in recent years, including Venus and Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal.
Olympic Handball
Before indoor handball was played at the Olympics, it was played outdoors on a field. This was in Berlin in 1936 when it officially made its debut as an Olympic sport. It came indoors in 1972 and opened up to women athletes in 1976. Twelve men’s teams and 12 women’s teams qualify for the Olympics from around the world.
In the game, teams try to score goals by dribbling and passing a ball to their teammates across a floor. The game is two 30-minute halves and the team with the highest score wins. France and Denmark have both excelled in handball over the years, with France winning the most medals of any country.
Olympic Table Tennis
Table tennis has continued to grow since joining the Olympic Games in 1988. It was first singles and doubles for men and women, then in 2008, the doubles event turned into the team event. In 2020, the mixed doubles event was added to the sport, making 10 total events: singles and team for men and women, as well as mixed doubles.
When it comes to singles games, a match is best of seven, with the first player reaching 11 points (with a two-point margin) being the winner. In mixed doubles, it’s the same format, but players take turns hitting the ball. In the team event, it’s four singles matches and a doubles match, and the sets are best of five. China has largely dominated table tennis in recent years, taking home 60 medals in the sport since 1988 and showing off their speed and skill at each Games.
Olympic Water Polo
Water polo was first introduced at the Olympics in 1900 in Paris — the second Games. The popular yet aggressive sport has remained a part of the Olympics ever since, but it wasn’t until Sydney in 2000 that the women’s event was added into the mix. In the game, two teams of seven face off in a pool that’s 3m deep and work to score goals against each other. The game is four quarters, with each lasting eight minutes.
Over the years, many countries have shown strong performances in water polos, particularly the European countries. However, in very recent years, Team USA women’s water polo has dominated, winning the gold medal in 2012, 2016, and 2020.
FAQ
What is the Olympic motto?
The Olympic motto is Citius, Altius, Fortius. This means faster, higher, stronger.
Why was polo removed from the Olympics?
Polo was removed after the 1936 Olympics because it was viewed as not a financially feasible option for the Games. It was also not as popular of a sport, so it was done away with, and it has never returned.
Where can I watch the Olympics?
The Olympics will be airing on NBC and all of its cable networks. These channels are available on your favorite streaming platforms, including DIRECTV STREAM, Sling TV, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, and YouTube TV. All of the Olympic events will also be airing on Peacock.
"We often receive complimentary products to review at Sportsnaut. Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team."