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Paris is getting ready to host the summer Olympics, which will be followed by the Paralympics a few weeks later. The opening ceremony will be held on boats, and this will also be the first time that break-dancing will be included as an Olympic sport. The summer Olympics will take place from 26 July to 11 August, with 10,500 athletes competing in 32 sports and 329 medal events. The Paralympics will run from 28 August to 8 September, featuring 4,400 athletes in 22 sports and 549 medal events. A total of 206 countries will be represented at the Olympics, while 184 countries will participate in the Paralympics. This will be Paris' third time hosting the summer Games, making it only the second city to do so. The last summer Olympics were held in Tokyo in 2021, delayed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Paris will have 15 Olympic and 11 Paralympic venues, including the Seine River for triathlon, marathon swimming, and Para-triathlon events. The Stade de France will be the main venue for athletics, and six regional cities will host football matches. The Mediterranean coast city of Marseille will host the sailing events, while surfing will take place in the French overseas territory of Tahiti. The organisers are planning to use existing or temporary structures to reduce costs and carbon emissions. The venue preparation is estimated to cost around 8 billion euros. The budget is said to be "under control" according to the president of the organising committee. Break-dancing, also known as "breaking," will make its debut as an Olympic sport. Four events introduced in Tokyo, including BMX, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing, will be continued, while karate and baseball have been dropped. Instead of a traditional stadium parade, athletes will parade on the river Seine. They will sail down the river for 6km (3.8 miles) through central Paris before gathering in the Trocadero park for the lighting of the Olympic Flame. The organisers have made the opening ceremony free for the public to watch, with half a million spectators expected to line the riverbank. The mascot for the games is called "Les Phryges," and the Paralympic mascot has a visible disability, sporting a running blade. Russian and Belarusian teams have been barred from sending athletes due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Belarus' support for it. However, athletes from these countries can compete as Individual Neutral Athletes. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov criticized the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for not also barring Israel from participating due to its military operation in Gaza, but the IOC president confirmed Israel's participation. Additionally, there will be a Refugee Olympic Team for athletes displaced from their home countries. Tickets for the Olympics and Paralympics can be purchased on the Paris 2024 website on a "first come, first served" basis. Many sessions have already sold out, but new batches of tickets are regularly added. Prices start at 24 euros for Olympic events and 15 euros for Paralympic events. However, a poll showed that 44% of Parisians view hosting the Olympics as a "bad thing." Public transportation fares in Paris will double during the Games, and some residents are unhappy with the security measures put in place. The Olympic and Paralympic Village, as well as a new aquatics center, are being constructed in the Seine-Saint-Denis region, one of the poorest parts of mainland France. Charities have raised concerns about the eviction of squatters near the new Games venues.