Paris 2024 is set to release a film paying tribute to sport and its unique capacity to arouse strong emotions, bring people together and transform lives. The film will go out on social media at 18.00 on Monday 24 June. Having encouraged the people of France to show their love for sport on Olympic Day, held in partnership with the Festival of Sport this week-end, Paris 2024 has made the film in an effort to put sport and athletes at the heart of its project and to invite public, financial, associations and media stakeholders to rally around that vision.

A film where sport is the hero

Devised by the agency Buzzman, the film was directed by Albert Albert and produced by Iconoclast in response to Paris 2024’s desire to highlight the key role that sport plays in our shared history, in those moments of togetherness, pride and joy, but also in our everyday lives in educating us and helping us to stay fit and healthy and push our boundaries.

Over the course of 90 seconds, elite and recreational athletes, amateur sportspeople and enthusiasts reveal how sport has changed their lives. A young woman completing a marathon says that before she took up sport she would simply have given up, while decathlon world champion and world record holder Kevin Mayer jokes that he used to be “just another Kevin”. Elsewhere, a TV viewer is left dumbstruck at Floria Gueï’s stunning comeback in the 4x400m relay at the 2014 European Athletics Championships before gasping that he never used to believe in miracles. For her part, champion wheelchair tennis player Emmanuelle Morch hits some backhands as she explains that there was a time when people could not see past her disability, and a group of young basketball players strutting their stuff at the Playground Duperré court in Paris explain that this was a dead end before it was built.

The film is the first to be released by Paris 2024 since the award of the 2024 Olympic Games to the French capital in September 2017.

A film that spreads the Paris 2024 message
These contributions all underscore Paris 2024’s belief that sport can change lives, on both a personal and collective level.

“We wanted this film to make a genuinely compelling case for sport and to do so with humour and humility,” said Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet. “This belief that ‘sport can change everything’ is a personal belief of mine and one I share with everyone who is involved in the Paris 2024 adventure. It has guided us since the very start of the bid process and will continue to guide us over the next five years. At our level, beyond the organisation of the Games itself, it is our goal to help consolidate sport’s place in society. We will do so by showing over the next five years what sport, its athletes and its Olympic and Paralympic disciplines have to offer, by making sport the focal point of our legacy strategy, by funding specific sports development projects through the soon-to-be-created Paris 2024 Endowment Fund, and by engaging with actors who can play a valuable role in developing sport, among them regional and local authorities, and financial and media partners.”

Elite athletes get the message across
A total of 11 elite athletes agreed to take part in the film. Members of the upcoming Generation 2024 and iconic champions alike, they are inspirational figures and encapsulate the values of the Paris 2024 project.

In order of appearance, the film stars Tony Parker (basketball), Raphaël Varane (football), Melvyn Richardson (handball), Sarah Ourahmoune (boxing), Emmanuelle Morch (wheelchair tennis), siblings Florent and Laure Manaudou (both swimming), Osaïa Reding (kitesurfing), Martin Fourcade (biathlon), Kevin Mayer (decathlon) and Teddy Riner (judo). French actor and comedian Eric Judor also makes a brief but equally inspirational appearance.

Paris 2024 is delighted to be able to count on the support and commitment of all these athletes, some of whom are heavily involved in the organisation of the Games, such as Martin Fourcade, the chair of the Paris 2024 Athletes’ Commission, and Sarah Ourahmoune, a member of the Paris 2024 Executive Board.