How to become a volunteer at the Paris 2024 Games

The application process for volunteers for the 2024 Games is now open - and organisers say there is no requirement for helpers to be able to speak French.

There are three main criteria for volunteers; you must be aged 18 or over, you must speak either English or French (or both) and you must be available for a minimum of 10 days during the Olympics or Paralympics in the summer of 2024.

You do not need to be a resident of France, registration is open to everyone - although volunteers travelling from another country will need to organise their own travel and accommodation and will need to ensure they have the correct visa or right to be in France if they are not EU citizens. 

Those who benefit from the 90-day rule can use their 90 day allowance to visit during the Games, while others can enter on a tourist visa - since this will be a short stay and your work is unpaid.

The organisers are particularly keen to recruit volunteers with a disability, and have set an informal goal of 3,000 disabled volunteers as part of the team.

Registration is also now open for phase 2 of the Olympic ticket sales - click HERE for details on how to register

President of the Paris 2024 organising committee Tony Estanguet said: "Our volunteers will be at the heart of the greatest sporting event on the planet and directly contributing to its success.

"The positive energy transmitted by volunteers is unique and they will be the face of the Games." 

Volunteers will mostly be helping with spectators and the visitor experience (around 60 percent of volunteers roles) with tasks including greeting and directing spectators and media.

Around 35 percent of roles will relate to event organisation such as helping competitors, organising equipment, assisting with timekeeping etc, while five percent of roles will be organisational such as distributing ID cards and equipment for officials.

Most of the volunteers will be needed for Paris and the surrounding area, but 5,000 volunteers are also needed for the others Games venues; Bordeaux, Nantes, Marseille, Nice, Saint-Etienne, Lyon, Lille and Châteauroux.

The sign-up is done online and organisers estimate that completing the form and submitting your application will take between 35 and 45 minutes.

The process is;

• Head to the volunteer portal on the Paris 2024 website HERE.
• Fill in your personal details, including what languages you speak
• Indicate the dates that you will be available - this must be for a minimum of 10 days during the Olympics and/or the Paralympics. The Olympics run from July 26th to August 11th and the Paralympics from August 28th to September 6th - and the areas that you are available to work in eg Paris, Bordeaux, Nantes etc
• Answer a questionnaire on your skills, previous experiences, areas of interest - this is done in the form of selecting statements based on your personality eg whether you prefer to work alone or in a team
• Submit the application

The timetable for the volunteer process is as follows;

March 22nd - May 5th - applications open on the online portal. 

• May - August 2023 - organisers study the profiles of people who have volunteered, at this stage you may be called for a further interview or asked to supply more information. If you have indicated that you speak a language other than your native tongue, at this stage you may be given a short test or interview, in order to confirm that your language skills are at the level you described.
• September - December 2023 - successful volunteers will be given details of their assignments for the Games
• First quarter of 2024 - volunteers will be given full details of their work, any training required and issued with their uniforms.

1. In addition to Olympics volunteers, Paris City Hall is also seeking 5,288 volunteers to help welcome visitors to Paris.
2. While Games volunteers will be at Olympic and Paralympic venues, City Hall volunteers will be across the rest of Paris - including at tourist sites and Metro and train stations, welcoming visitors and helping them with the practical aspects of their visit to the French capital. 

1. Volunteers, whether for the Games or City Hall, will not be paid and will be responsible for paying their own accommodation and transport costs during the Games, neither do they get free Games tickets.