World Rugby says a full house of 69,000 fans expected for every session in Stade de France. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
With just over two weeks to go before kick off, World Rugby and Paris 2024 have released the Olympic rugby sevens comptition schedule.
The rugby sevens competition starts two days ahead of the Opening Ceremony, with the men's category played on 24, 25 and 27 July, followed by the women's from 28-30 July.
The men's final on 27 July will be the first team sport gold medal of the Games.
Twelve teams will compete in three pools of four teams for both men's and women's rugby sevens competitions.
All six World Rugby regions are represented among the 24 teams who secured their spots in Paris via the HSBC SVNS Series, regional qualification competitions and the World Rugby Sevens Repechage.
Oceania's Australia and Samoa kick off the men's competition, while hosts France begin against USA and double Olympic gold winners Fiji face debutants Uruguay.
Ireland and Great Britain begin the women's tournament on 28 July, while reigning champions New Zealand play Challenger champions China.
All six World Rugby regions are represented among the 24 teams who secured their spots in Paris via the HSBC SVNS Series, regional qualification competitions and the World Rugby Sevens Repechage.
In a statement on Monday, World Rugby said Paris 2024 promises to be a coming-of-age tournament for the sport on the Olympic stage.
It said a full house of 69,000 fans expected for every session in Stade de France, which hosted the final of Rugby World Cup 2023.
"The unveiling of the match schedule is another exciting step on the road to Paris with just 16 days to go until rugby sevens kicks off the Olympic Games," World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin said.
"The players, teams and fans can now mark their calendars and fine tune their preparations for what promises to be an incredible six days of fast paced, all action drama as some of the best athletes in the world showcase the speed, strength and skill of rugby sevens to a huge worldwide audience.
"Following rugby sevens' Olympic debut at Rio 2016 and the Covid affected Games in Tokyo, we are anticipating Paris 2024 to be the sport's 'coming of age' Games - the biggest and best yet - with a full house of passionate fans expected across all sessions at the iconic Stade de Fance, representing a golden opportunity to further grow rugby's global appeal."
Paris 2024 executive rirector of sport competitions Aurélie Merle said "the atmosphere will be electric inside the Stade de France".
"The release of the competition schedule raises our anticipation even higher, with so many tantalising match-ups to look forward to.
"With less than three weeks to go, the stage is set and everything is ready for the athletes to enjoy an unrivalled experience and to thrill all those millions of fans watching in France and around the world."