Summer Olympics

Charter a Private Jet to the Summer Olympics

More than half a million spectators – 200,000 of them from the United States – are expected to watch 10,500 athletes compete in more than 300 events at the 2024 Summer Olympics to be held July 26- August 11 in Paris, France.

The Summer Olympic Games, held every four years, are the world’s largest sporting event.

We Can Get You There

If you’d like to be among the spectators at the first Summer Olympics held in South America and only the second location in the southern hemisphere (the other was Australia), Paramount Business Jets can arrange a charter flight that will get you there in style. You can fly into any nearby airport, including:

• Le Bourget Airport, LFPB, LBG, Paris, France (5 miles)
• Paris Issy Les Moulineaux, LFPI, Paris, France (8 miles)
• Charles De Gaulle Airport, LFPG, CDG, Paris, France (10 miles)
• Velizy Airport, LFPV, Villacoublay, France (13 miles)
• Orly Airport, LFPO, ORY, Paris, France (14 miles)
• Toussus Le Noble Airport, LFPN, TNF, Toussus Le Noble, France (17 miles)
• Cormeilles En Vexin Airport, LFPT, POX, Pontoise, France (18 miles)
• Creil Airport, LFPC, CSF, Creil, France (23 miles)
• Villaroche Airport, LFPM, Melun, France (27 miles)
• Voisins Airport, LFPK, Colmar, France (31 miles)

Surprises In Store

Four years after the most medaled athlete in history, Michael Phelps, announced his retirement at the London Summer Olympics in London, he’s back. The 30-year-old Phelps has decided to compete one more time – in his fifth Olympic appearance -- to try to add to his 22 medals, 18 of which are gold.

Also, two popular sports, golf and rugby, are returning to the Olympics after a long absence.

The top-ranked golfers in the world – with a maximum of four from one country – will qualify for the first Olympic competition in more than 100 years.

Meanwhile, Rugby, last played in the Olympics in 1924, returns in a “sevens” format, which has seven instead of 15 players on a side and which has no scrums, which are considered time-consuming and dangerous to the players. Sevens moves faster, is considered easier to understand and is less dependent on player size and strength.

One of the venues of the Summer Olympics - Estádio Olímpico João Havelange - Rio de Janeiro

The Sports of the Summer Olympics

Below are the Olympic sport disciplines in which 306 events will be held over 19 days. There will be 136 medals for women, 161 for men and nine mixed medals.

• Archery
• Artistic Gymnastics
• Athletics
• Badminton
• Basketball
• Beach Volleyball
• Boxing
• Canoe Slalom
• Canoe Sprint
• Cycling BMX
• Cycling Mountain Bike
• Cycling Road
• Cycling Track
• Diving
• Equestrian
• Fencing
• Football
• Golf
• Handball
• Hockey
• Judo
• Marathon Swimming
• Modern Pentathlon
• Rhythmic Gymnastics
• Rowing
• Rugby Sevens
• Sailing
• Shooting
• Swimming
• Synchronized Swimming
• Table Tennis
• Taekwondo
• Tennis
• Trampoline Gymnastics
• Triathlon
• Volleyball
• Water Polo
• Weightlifting
• Wrestling

The Rio Games

The competition will take place in these venues around Brazil:

• Barra Olympic Park
  Olympic Village and main hub of events
  

  The park is located in Barra da Tijuca on the outskirts of Rio. It includes the $43 million Velodrome.

• Deodoro Olympic Park
  Outdoor Park
  

  It was constructed near an existing competitive shooting facility that will also host Olympic events.

• Olympic Golf Course
  The first course since 1904
  

  Bringing golf back to the Olympics after 112 years pushed Brazil to build a new 18-hole, 7,350-yard course.

• Maracanã Stadium
  For opening and closing ceremonies
  

  The soccer stadium used for the 2014 World Cup holds 87,000 spectators.

• Olympic Stadium
  For track-and-field events and soccer
  

  Built for the 2007 Pan American Games, it has been enlarged to hold 60,000.

• Amazônia Arena
  2,000 miles from Rio
  

  Also built for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, this $300 million stadium holds 45,000 spectators. It is 2,000 miles from Rio in Manaus.

Q&As

What are the most popular Summer Olympic sports?

Track and field events, aquatic events and gymnastics.

What are the other sports at the Games?

Basketball, cycling, soccer, tennis, volleyball, archery, badminton, boxing, judo, rowing, shooting, table tennis, weightlifting, kayaking, equestrian, fencing, handball, field hockey, sailing, taekwondo, wrestling, triathlon and pentathlon.

Who has hosted the most Summer Olympic Games?

The United States, with four. The United Kingdom has hosted three, all in London. Australia, France, Germany and Greece have hosted the Summer Games twice.

Should we be worried about the Zika virus?

While the World Health Organization has recommended against imposing travel restrictions, it said travelers should be warned of the risks, especially to pregnant women.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control has taken it one step further, recommending that pregnant women not travel to the Summer Olympics. The virus, which normally is so mild that people often don’t even know they have it, has been linked to microcephaly, a birth defect in which a baby’s head, and often the brain, too, is smaller than normal.

The virus is transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes but has been found in semen, raising fears it may be also be spread by sexual contact.

Olympic visitors are urged to use mosquito repellent.

Is it easy to get into the country?

A visa waiver program enacted for the Olympics allows citizens of Australia, Canada, the United States and Japan to enter Brazil with just a passport and proof of a round-trip ticket between June 1 and Sept. 18, 2016. Those visitors will still have to go through customs but will not have to go to an embassy to get a visa.

Summer Olympics Trivia

• Among the 206 countries that will compete in Summer Olympics 2016 will be first-timers South Sudan and Kosovo.
• The purpose of the games, according to the Olympic Museum, is to “create better world through sport practiced in a spirit of peace, excellence, friendship and respect.”
• The Olympic Games started in ancient Greece 3,000 years ago and then died out until 1896 when, in Athens, the modern Olympics were born. There were 280 athletes from 13 countries competing in 43 events.
• The ancient games were part of a religions festival honoring Zeus. Athletes competed as individuals, not as members of a team or country.
• The Summer and Winter Olympics were split in 1994 with each being held on alternating two years.
• The Olympics became a true international sporting event in the VIII Games that were held in Paris in 1924. It was the first time there was a closing ceremony and it was the debut of the Winter Olympics.
• Wondering what the 206 competing countries are? You can find the list here.
• Citius. Altius. Fortius. The three Latin words that became the motto of the Olympics in 1894 mean faster, higher, stronger. Pierre de Coubertin, the Frenchman who founded the International Olympic Committee, proposed the motto he said came from a friend who was a Dominican priest who taught sports in Paris.
• The cities of Los Angeles, Paris and Athens have all hosted two Summer Olympics.
• Five countries have been represented at all the Summer Olympics: Australia, France, Great Britain, Greece and Switzerland.
• Great Britain is the only country to have won at least one gold medal in every Summer Olympics. The United States has won the most overall medals.

Things To Do And See In Rio

The sexy city has two of the world’s most famous beaches where just about any clothing – or lack thereof -- goes.

Copacabana Beach: A three-mile stretch along the populated urban area of Rio is a short walk to shopping, theaters, restaurants and nightclubs.

Ipanema Beach: About two miles southeast of Copacabana is the fashionable seaside neighborhood made famous in the 1960s by the bossa nova song, “The Girl from Ipanema.” Ipanema is more laid-back than Copacabana.

Christ the Redeemer: The iconic 125-foot statue of Jesus with open arms looking down over Rio di Janeiro from the top of Corcovado Mountain is visible for miles around. It was erected in 1931. There are trails and shuttles that will take you to the top of the mountain.

Santa Teresa: For a different and charming view of Rio, visit the artistic hillside neighborhood of Santa Teresa just above downtown. Mansions sprang up here in the late 19th century when coffee plantations were booming. Over the years the area fell in disrepair until the 1960s when artists, musicians and writers started moving in and restoring dilapidated houses and buildings.

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