When rugby sevens announced its arrival as an Olympic sport in Rio in 2016, it proved to be the hottest ticket in town.

The sport’s fast-paced nature and the skills and speed of the athletes on show made the Olympic Games and rugby sevens a match made in heaven.

Unfortunately, the long-lasting effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic prevented fans from attending any of the events in Tokyo last year.

But that will only serve to heighten excitement ahead of what promises to be another spectacular Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.

With French rugby booming on the back of the men’s 15s team going through a calendar year unbeaten for the first time in history, the rugby sevens competitions are sure to be a big box office draw for locals as well as those from further afield.

As such, fans are urged to book early to avoid disappointment. Ticket registration for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 opens on Thursday, 1 December and can be done via the official Olympic website from that date through to 31 January.

Kicking off in style

With two days of competition at the world-famous Stade de France taking place before the Opening Ceremony and the first set of medals awarded just the day after, rugby sevens will kick-off Paris 2024 in style.

In the men’s tournament, two-time defending champions Fiji will once again be the team to stop as they bid for a hat-trick of gold medals, while past winners Australia and New Zealand will be among the favourites in the women’s tournament.

Twelve men's matches are due to take place on 24 July with a further 12, including the men's quarter-finals, on 25 July.

The men’s competition then takes a break for the Opening Ceremony on 26 July, before the men's semi-finals and medal matches are due to be held on 27 July.

The women begin their march toward the podium on Sunday, 28 July with the competition running through to Tuesday, 30 July.

The race to Paris

As hosts, France’s teams are already assured of their place in the line-up but for the rest, the race to Paris is already underway in the men’s and just about to start in the women’s competition.

The top four teams at the end of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023 will automatically qualify for Paris 2024.

The men’s Series involves 11 tournaments and the first, in Hong Kong on 4-6 November, was won by Australia.

The next round is in Dubai, on 2-3 December, which is also the date and venue for the first of seven tournaments in the women’s Series.

The rest of the line-up for Paris 2024 will be decided through a series of regional qualification tournaments and a final repechage tournament.