French Polynesia is one of five destinations to have officially applied to host surfing events during the 2024 summer Olympic Games in Paris.
Other venues to have expressed an interest are Biarritz, the community of municipalities of Le Pays Bigouden Sud (La Torche), Department of Les Landes (Hossegor, Capbreton and Seignosse) and Lacanau – Bordeaux Metropole.
Representatives from the Paris 2024 organising committee will visit the five candidate venues over the summer, with the destinations having until September 30 to submit a completed application file. French Polynesia is located in the Pacific Ocean – some 15,900 kilometres from France.
The venue for the Paris 2024 surfing competitions is expected to be announced in the first half of 2020. Surfing, along with breakdancing, sport climbing and skateboarding, is one of four sports to have been provisionally included on the Paris 2024 sports programme.
The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Executive Board will make the final decision on the proposed new events in December 2020. Surfing at Paris 2024 would comprise a women’s shortboard and men’s shortboard event, each contested by 24 athletes.
Last month, the local organising committee of Paris 2024 confirmed that surfing events would be held on natural waves at a venue outside of Paris. Reports had suggested that Sevran Terre d’Eaux, a €250m ($281m) surf park complex under development in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, could host surfing at the Games but Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet moved to clarify that a natural site would be favoured.
Surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing will make their Olympic debuts at Tokyo 2020.
