Paris 2024 Olympics – Languages of the Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are taking place in the French Capital in 2024. For just over 2 weeks, National Olympic Committees of over 170 countries will take part in this multi-sport event. With so many countries and people, it is no wonder that there are many languages being spoken at the event. Discover what are the official languages of the Olympic Games and which are widely spoken by different teams.

Official Languages of the Olympic Games

There are two official languages at the Olympic Games: French and English. There could be up to three official languages, if taken into account the language of the host country. Therefore, there are at least always two official languages.

French

French was the first official language spoken at the modern Olympics. Upon on founding the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Baron Pierre de Coubertin established French as the official language. Since the very first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, French has been the chosen language of the ceremony as well.

English

English is also the co-official language of the Olympic Games. The main reason is due to English being today the lingua franca. A preferred language to communicate effectively between participants in the event.

Language of the Host Country

If the Olympic Games take place in an non-French or English speaking country, a third language will also be the official language of the event. Therefore, the language of the host country will also be one of the official languages of the Olympic Games.

Main Languages at the Paris Olympics 2024

There will be only two official languages at the Paris Olympics 2024: French and English. Since it’s taking place in France, the official language is also the language of the host country. However, there are over 170 countries and teams taking part in the Paris Olympics 2024. So, how many languages will committees speak? From Arabic to Portuguese, there are 5 main languages spoken by the Olympic teams of each country at the Paris Summer Olympics 2024. The 5 main languages the National Olympic Committees choose to speak:

English – 40+ National Olympic Teams

There are over 40 countries that consider English their official language taking part in the Paris 2024 Olympics. Among those are the USA, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand. There are also, other countries with less participants taking part in the event such as The Bahamas, Botswana, Liberia and South Sudan. Below you can see a list of the 40+ national Olympics teams that have English as one of their official languages:

Whilst there are many countries that have English as their official language, it might not be the language they choose to speak amongst themselves. Countries such as Canada, India, Kenya and Nigeria recognise more than one official language. Therefore, they might use other language amongst themselves. However, in many cases English is recognised as working language. Particularly when taking part in international events. Other countries, such as the USA do not have an official language but English is the most commonly spoken language. There is even the case of Belgium that has used English as their chosen language when taking part in international tournaments despite not being an official language of the country.

Spanish – 20 National Olympics Teams

Spanish is the official language of 21 speaking countries and territories. The majority will be taking part in the Paris 2024 Olympics except for one. Out of all the countries, Spain is the one with more participants at the event. Countries that have Spanish as an official language at the Paris Olympic Games:

French – 19 National Olympic Teams

French is the official language of many countries including Canada, France and Senegal. Not only is French one of the official languages of Olympic Games and of the host country, is also of at least other 18 national Olympic teams. Countries that recognise French as an official language at the Paris Olympic Games:

Some countries such as Belgium and Mali might use one of the other few recognised languages throughout the event. Other countries such as Switzerland, might use German despite the IOC being located in Lausanne and French being the official language of committee.

Arabic – 17 National Olympic Teams

Arabic is widely spoken across the North of Africa and Middle East. As the official language of many countries, there will be at least 17 taking part in the event that have Arabic as their official language. Those countries are:

Portuguese – 6 National Olympic Teams

Portuguese is the official language of 10 countries and territories across the world. However, only 6 will take part in the event. Countries that recognise Portuguese as an official language at the Paris 2024 Olympics:

Other Languages of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

With so many nations and territories taking part in the Paris 2024 Olympics, there are many languages likely to be heard throughout the event. Languages such as Dutch, Chinese and German are also the official language of a few teams. However, we are focusing on a few different languages that teams will be using during the event.

Burmese

Burmese is the official language of only one country in the world – Myanmar. It is also spoken by indigenous population in other countries. Myanmar will take part in the 2024 Summer Olympics along with other Southeast Asian nations.

Malay

Malay is native to Southeast Asia and spoken across many countries and territories. It is also the official language of two countries participating in the event – Malaysia and Singapore. The list could also include Indonesia, as Indonesian is many times considered to be a form of Malay.

Somali

Somali is an East African language. It is the official language of Ethiopia and the most spoken language of Djibouti. Both countries will take part in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Somali is also one of the many recognised minority languages of Kenya.

Swahili

Swahili is another East African language and the official language of 4 countries taking part in the 2024 Paris Olympics – Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. All these countries also recognise other languages such as English, French or Kinyarwanda.

There is also the special case of the Refugee Olympic Team. However, there is not an official language for the team as is composed of people of different origins and backgrounds. The Refugee Olympic Team created for the 2016 Rio Olympics will also take part at the 2024 Summer Olympics. This year 36 athletes will represent the Refugee Olympic Team.

Learn a Language of the Olympic Games

Are you planning to go to Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics? Then check our 20 essential holiday phrases in French and be ready for your trip to France. You can even take our French conversation classes to practice the language beforehand. If you are watching the Olympics from the comfort of you own home, why not learn a language online? We offer group courses for over 25 languages of the countries taking part in the 2024 Paris Olympics. For every other language we offer private language classes.

At Cactus we offer courses for over 25 languages including Cantonese, Korean and Ukrainian. Choose an online language course or in-person classes at our schools across the UK. We offer face-to-face classes in Brighton, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Leeds, London and Manchester. Alternatively, you can learn it with our private classes. Join our free trial lessons.