Paris 2024 launches campaign seeking 45 thousand volunteers

Paris, March 22 (PL) - The campaign to select volunteers for the Paris 2024 Games opened Wednesday with the aim of recruiting 30,000 for the Olympics and 15,000 for the Paralympics, the organizing committee (Cojo) said Tuesday.

Those interested can register until May 31 on a website set up for this purpose, provided they are 18 years old on January 1, speak French or English and are available at least ten days during the two competition periods: from July 26 to August 11 for the Olympians and from July 28 to September 8 for the Paralympians.

Sixty percent of the volunteers selected will be assigned to welcoming spectators, athletes, delegations and journalists, 35% will be related to sports competitions, such as ball boys and girls, and 5% will be assigned to Cojo's organizational missions.

The organizers indicated that the goal is to have 3 thousand of the selected athletes with disabilities and to achieve parity between men and women.

Those selected will have an official uniform and will be paid for one meal a day and transportation to the place where they have to perform their duties.

But they will not be paid or housed by the organization, and they will have to pay their own way to Paris or the venue where they will perform their duties.

The president of the Cojo, Tony Estanguet, expressed his conviction that the number of candidates will be much higher than the number needed, and regretted that there will be "a lot of disappointment".

"There is a great expectation and we understand that. You can only participate once in a lifetime in an event of this magnitude in France," he assured.

Many volunteers will come from sports federations, others from sponsoring companies and also from the host cities, which will have their own volunteers.