23 April 2025 - From 31 March to 4 April, the 9th edition of Olympic and Paralympic Week (French acronym: SOP) brought together over 700,000 students in France and abroad in a national celebration of sport, inclusion and the Olympic values.
Organised by the French National Olympic and Paralympic Sports Committees (CNOSF and CPSF), the event builds on the legacy of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, keeping the momentum alive.
Held under the theme “Cultivating the Joy of Sport”, this year's edition saw more than 2,400 schools participate in a dynamic programme aimed at encouraging young people to engage in physical activity, promoting the values of Olympism and Paralympism, and fostering inclusivity through sport.
Olympic and Paralympic Week, first introduced by the Paris 2024 Organising Committee in 2017, has now reached over 5 million young people. It continues to serve as an avenue for promoting the Olympic and Paralympic values, physical health and social cohesion through sport. Since its launch in 2017, the SOP has engaged over 12,600 educational institutions and inspired the launch of 17,500 related projects.
This year’s edition was also an opportunity to demonstrate how the Olympic Winter Games French Alps 2030 will maintain the momentum of Paris 2024, with the launch of the Generation 2030 label. Following on from the Generation 2024 label, the programme will offer schools, educational establishments and higher education institutions a unique opportunity to bring the Olympic and Paralympic spirit to life for their students. This label will recognise establishments that are committed to promoting inclusive sports practices, integrating more physical and sporting activities into their daily lives.
From the outset, Paris 2024 was committed to making sport more accessible – especially for young people. As part of its legacy plan in the years leading up to the Games, Paris 2024 supported the introduction of 30 minutes of daily physical activity in French primary schools and enabled over 36,000 children across France to receive free swimming lessons.
Paris 2024 created a powerful legacy for communities across France – embedding sport into everyday life, getting more people moving, and making physical activity a core part of the school curriculum. Olympic and Paralympic Week is a great example of how the Games continue to benefit the host population, inspiring a new generation through sports, inclusion and shared values.
Marie Sallois - IOC Director for Sustainability
David Lappartient, President of the CNOSF and an IOC Member in France, said: “With over 700,000 participants, Olympic and Paralympic Week 2025 proves that the legacy of the Paris 2024 Games continues to shine through! It's a tremendous collective momentum that enables young people to embrace the Olympic and Paralympic values. Through sport, we are cultivating friendship, respect and excellence, while inspiring future generations. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this success: teachers, coaches, volunteers, athletes and so on.”
The strong mobilisation of the sporting movement, particularly in our regions, has also played a full part in the success of this SOP 2025. Together, let's keep the momentum going and continue to share the pleasure of sport on a daily basis right up to the 2030 French Alps Games and beyond!
David Lappartient - President of the CNOSF and an IOC Member in France
The “joy of sport” started in Nice
The week was officially launched in the city of Nice, one of the main hubs of the French Alps 2030 Games, where over 600 students from local educational institutions gathered for a day of festivities and sporting activities. They were joined by a dozen Olympic and Paralympic athletes who shared their experiences and celebrated sport with young kids.
The opening ceremony was attended by Marie Barsacq, Minister of Sports, Youth and Community Life and former Paris 2024 Director of Impact and Legacy; Renaud Muselier, President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region; Marie-Amélie Le Fur, President of the CPSF and of the French National Sports Agency; Astrid Guyart, Secretary General of the CNOSF; and Edgar Grospiron, President of the French Alps 2030 Organising Committee, among others.
In five years' time, the world's greatest sporting event – the French Alps 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Games – will be held here. Five years may seem a long way off, but it's tomorrow! Our French athletes are already setting themselves the goal of winning medals. But to do that, you have to believe, believe in yourself, in your abilities and in the possibility of creating the conditions necessary to achieve your dreams. I wish for all the students to share this same enthusiasm for sport, because passion is the basis of everything in life!
Edgar Grospiron - President of the French Alps 2030 Organising Committee
Athletes and young people at the heart of Olympic week
Athletes played an active role during the week, with 120 of them – including 2025 ambassadors Manon Apithy-Brunet (fencing) and Arnaud Assoumani (Para athletics, long jump) – visiting schools across the country or connecting through virtual meetings.
French Alps 2030 carries on the legacy
Looking ahead to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games French Alps 2030, Marie Barsacq visited La Plagne’s iconic bobsleigh track – originally built for the Olympic Winter Games Albertville 1992 – which will once again host Olympic events in 2030. On this occasion, she announced the continuation and evolution of the Generation 2024 Label created for Paris 2024, which will now become Generation 2030.
Semaine Olympique et Paralympique 🏅 #SOP2025 | Jour 5 📆 :
— Ministère des Sports 🇫🇷 (@Sports_gouv) April 4, 2025
📍 Ce vendredi 4 avril, Marie Barsacq s’est rendue en Savoie aux côtés de Fabrice Pannekoucke, président de la Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
🏫 La ministre des Sports, de la Jeunesse et de la Vie associative est allée… pic.twitter.com/VSp2A331Ye
“This Olympic Week has provided an opportunity to pass on the values of sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games to more than 700,000 young people,” said Barsacq. “Following the Paris 2024 Games, this edition had a strong ambition: to bring the Games' legacy to life and to boost the practice of sport among young people. We must encourage people to take up sport from a very young age. That is the purpose of 30 minutes of daily exercise, which we will continue to support by providing more assistance for teachers and through the involvement of our national team.”
The rollout of a physical aptitude test for sixth-grade students, enhanced training for teachers delivering the 30 minutes of daily physical activity, and a pilot programme across several regions to accelerate access to school sports facilities were among the announcements made during the week.
Olympic legacy includes the long-term benefits that the Olympic Games create for the host city, its people, and the Olympic Movement before, during and long after the Olympic Games. Find out more about our strategic approach to Olympic legacy!
