Olympic Sportswashing: A Heatwave in Paris

Climate Central

The 2024 Paris Olympics, a celebration of athletic prowess and international unity, is set against a backdrop of soaring temperatures, with the mercury expected to rise above 35°C. As athletes compete in grueling conditions, the question arises: are the Olympics truly equipped to safeguard their health? Answering this question reveals a troubling contradiction between the Games’ environmental commitments and its financial backing. 

This week, Paris faces unprecedented heat, with temperatures reaching dangerous levels. The average temperature between 26 July - 11 August has risen by 5.5°F since the city last hosted the Olympics a century ago. As temperatures soar, athletes are at severe risk of heat-related illnesses, including heat stroke and exhaustion. The ‘wet-bulb effect,’ where a combination of temperatures above 35°C and humidity prevent the body from cooling itself, becomes a real threat with potentially fatal outcomes.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics was a stark warning of the severe health impacts of extreme heat, with around 1 in 100 athletes suffering from heat-related issues. Given the forecasted temperatures for Paris, these risks are expected to be even more pronounced.

As the climate crisis has intensified, soaring temperatures have become increasingly common. In the week preceding the Games, the Earth experienced the three hottest days on record. This unprecedented warming led UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to underscore the gravity of the situation, declaring that the world is now experiencing an ‘extreme heat epidemic’. In Paris alone, scorching days are now nearly three times more frequent than when the city last hosted the Games. 

The Olympics, while promoting sustainability, remains entangled with some of the most polluting industries on the planet. The Paris Games has received a record USD 258-308 million in sponsorship revenue from these sectors, a tenfold increase in polluter sponsorship since the 2004 Games. This funding contradicts the Olympic commitment to environmental stewardship and highlights a troubling disconnect between the Games' public messaging and its financial backing.

In ‘Olympic Smoke Rings’, we calculated that the polluting sponsorship deals of the Paris Games will generate an additional 33.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions, comparable to the output of eight coal plants operating for an entire year. It is against this polluting backdrop that the declaration from organisers that Paris would be the ‘greenest ever Games’ rings hollow.

The Olympics' role in the climate crisis is a stark reminder of the broader issues at play. As extreme heat becomes a regular occurrence globally, the Games must confront the ethical implications of its sponsorships and environmental commitments. The call for a ban on fossil fuel advertising, echoed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, underscores the need for sports events to align their actions with their stated values.

For the Olympics to genuinely protect athlete health and lead on climate action, it must take decisive steps to distance itself from polluting sponsors and address the underlying issues driving extreme weather events. The future of the Games—and the well-being of its athletes—depends on making these crucial changes and confronting the realities of climate change head-on.