As is well known, from July 26 to August 11, 2024, the upcoming Olympics will take place in the city of Paris, France. In addition to what this sporting event represents in terms of sports, economics, social and cultural aspects, it is necessary from this moment to consider the environmental impact it will bring, specifically its ecological footprint.

The ecological footprint is the analysis of resource consumption patterns and waste generation that occur in a specific population. This allows us to understand the sustainability of human activities, which becomes increasingly important in significant sporting events like the Olympics, where there is a large concentration of people and extensive consumption.

For example, in the past Tokyo 2020 Olympics, there were calculations suggesting that the actual ecological footprint was close to 3 million tons of carbon dioxide. This was based on the transportation of athletes, journalists, and the general public, construction of infrastructure, food waste, electricity consumption, and waste generation.

Adding to this, Paris faces numerous environmental issues such as high air pollution and the loss of human lives, surpassing what occurs in other major European capitals. The result is that foresight, planning, and organization must be central when preparing for an event that expects to host more than 16 million people.

Large-scale sports events and the societal significance of the Olympics should not conflict with environmental protection. In fact, they should be permanent allies, so that every four years, the host city can demonstrate to the world how things should be done in terms of sustainability. Hopefully, Paris 2024 can be a starting point in this regard.

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