A reception organized by the French Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina was held in the premises of the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the occasion of marking 500 days until the start of the Olympic Games "Paris 2024".

In the presence of dignitaries, the Ambassador of France in Bosnia and Herzegovina, H.E. Christine Toudic, the President of the NOC BIH, Prof. Dr. Milanko Mučibabić, as well as the Olympic scholarship holders of the NOC BIH for the Paris 2024 Olympics, Amel Tuka, Larisa Cerić, and Mesud Pezer, have addressed to the audience.

President of the NOC BIH Prof. Dr. Milanko Mučibabić said: "It is a great pleasure that we have gathered in this temple of sports today to, together with our partners from the French Embassy, announce the biggest sports event in the world, the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Our athletes - scholarship holders of the NOC BIH, 14 of them, are preparing as much as possible in order to qualify for the Olympics and achieve better results in Paris than at the previous Olympic Games in Tokyo. I wish the host of the Games, the City of Paris, the French people, and France a successful and great organization of the Olympic Games "Paris 2024".

In 500 days, more precisely on July 26, 2024, the 33rd Summer Olympic Games "Paris 2024" will be officially opened. 19 days of top sports competition await us in Paris. France will be the host for the sixth time, including the Summer and Winter Olympics. The slogan of the Olympic Games "Paris 2024" is "The Games Wide Open".

"It is a great pleasure that I have the opportunity together with the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina, athletes and Olympians in this beautiful setting of the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to let's celebrate 500 days until the start of the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. I would like to highlight the Opening Ceremony of the Games, which will be held on the river for the first time in history. I am sure that the opening of the Games on the Seine will be a special experience for all participants. I wish successful preparations and a lot of sports luck and success to Bosnia and Herzegovina's team at the Olympic Games in Paris," said H.E. Christine Toudic.

The opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics will not be held at the stadium for the first time. Instead, it will be done on the river Seine. In addition to Paris and its area, certain sports competitions will be held in other locations. Handball competitions will be held in Lille, sailing in Marseille, surfing on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia, and football matches will be held across France. It is also important to point out that breakdancing competitions will be held for the first time at the Games in Paris.

Our athlete Amel Tuka stated "It is a great pleasure to be here today in the House of Sports and to have the opportunity to celebrate together with my friends 500 days until the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. As an athlete who has already participated in the Olympic Games twice, I look forward to the beginning of the Olympic Games in Paris. I hope that at these Games the number of BIH athletes will set a record and that our experienced athletes will be joined by young BiH athletes who already have notable top results. I would like to thank the Olympic Committee of BiH, which is great support for us in realizing our dreams".

"My colleague Amel said almost everything with which I completely agree. 500 days are both a lot and a little for preparations to achieve the Olympic standard. I also hope that our young athletes will succeed in qualifying for the Olympics and that Bosnia and Herzegovina will have the team in Paris will be numerous athletes, and that Bosnia and Herzegovina will win the first medal from these Games", said our most decorated judoka Larisa Cerić.

"Special thanks to the French Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina for inviting me to be a part of this wonderful story on the way to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. From July 1, 2024, the qualifying competitions in athletics begin, and I hope to qualify, together with my colleagues, for the Paris 2024 Olympics. I would like to thank the BiH Olympic Committee for its selfless support and I want to send a message to the State institutions to invest more in elite sports of BIH", said Mesud Pezer.

From July 26 to August 11, 10.500 athletes will represent 206 National Olympic Committees and compete in 32 sports and a total of 329 medal events. About 31.500 volunteers will be engaged at the Games.