Cover photo: WSL/Poullenot

The surfing event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will take place in the ocean, the president of the organizing committee, Tony Estanguet, told the press around the world who covered a new visit by the International Olympic Committee to the facilities planned for the grand event.

This throws out the window the plans of the municipality of Sevran, in the City of Lights, to have it carried out in a water park with a wave pool that they had planned and for which they applied.

It also throws out the window the World Surf League's alleged plans to have the surfing tournament take place in one of its pools (not long ago, Sophie Goldschmidt told reporters she would build two pools in Paris).

“It was decided at the last meeting of the board of directors that we will not use an artificial wave to host the surfing event and instead we will do it in a natural space. We are fortunate in France to have several sites that have hosted important international surfing tournaments,” said the authority.

The communes that officially presented themselves to host the surfing event are Biarritz in association with the Landes (Capbreton, Hossegor and Seignosse); Lacanau and La Torche (Finistère).

The Olympic Committee's assessment of the progress of Paris 2024 and its facilities was positive, saying there was a “consistent process” in a “very short” period of time.

The next vote on whether surfing will continue to be included in the competition will take place at the IOC session in Lausanne on 24-26 June. The final step, however, will not be taken until after the Tokyo Olympics.

On February 21, when Paris made the invitation to surfing official, climbing and breakdancing, the only visible change was the request to increase the number of participants from 20 to 24 per gender without adding any other disciplines.