More than 400 projects were carried out in France as part of the Cultural Olympiad. Exhibitions, artistic events combining sport with dance, circus, music, theatre and visual arts: the events organised alongside the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games have enabled to break down the barriers between sport and culture, “create synergies that were previously few in number” andapproach "new audiences, particularly young audiences whose proximity to cultural programming was not always proven"The Ministry of Culture welcomed the results of this initiative, especially since the entire region was involved, beyond the Île-de-France region, with a large number of projects in Occitanie and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
"The originality of the Paris Games and the real masterstroke of its organizers is to have understood thatsuch a sporting event could be enhanced by culture, underlines the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati. This cultural bias was expressed from the very conception of these Games and their format, for example in the architectural choices of the athletes' village or even in the ambitious project of the twenty national higher schools of architecture, which have built no fewer than twenty temporary pavilions in the Parc de la Villette. (…) Beyond this influence which will fuel the country's attractiveness for the years to come, the Paris Games leave us a precious legacy, that of having been able to renew the link between culture and sport." The cultural sector had already pulled off a masterstroke according to the data presented in Île-de-France, citing a 6,79% increase in visits to establishments in the Paris Musées network compared to 2022.
