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Paris Olympics break all-time Sevens record attendance
By Ian Cameron
Rugby sevens began the Olympic Games Paris 2024 with a phenomenal first day at Stade de France on Wednesday.
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The event attracted a record single-day crowd for rugby sevens, with 69,000 fans in attendance and millions more watching globally.
Over 500,000 tickets have been sold for the men’s and women’s Sevens across the week, with the shortened rugby code one of the biggest selling events at the 2024 Olympic Games.
SVNS league winners Argentina, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and double Olympic champions Fiji each secured places in Thursday’s quarter-finals with two victories on the opening day.
France’s Antoine Dupont scored a crucial try, helping the host team secure a win against Uruguay after an earlier draw with the USA.
“The atmosphere was good and helped us to win. Maybe we did not do our best but hopefully it is going to help us more in the next game,” said Dupont. “There were too many technical and tactical errors but we have to have hope. It is good to see that our mindset was good across the team. The essentials are there.
“We need to raise our level. If not, we will not go too far. We need to be focused on the game and not distracted because we are capable of better. In the last minutes we showed our mindset is strong.”
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Paris 2024 Organising Committee President Tony Estanguet and New Zealand’s Rugby World Cup winner Dan Carter were among a host of famous faces present at Stade de France to witness the start of the sporting action at these Olympic Games.
The Irish – who bagged two wins from two against South Africa and Japan – were also impressed with the support.
“It’s a really encouraging opening day for us and it’s job done in terms of two wins from two. It’s all about a huge Pool game against New Zealand tomorrow afternoon as we want to progress through as winners and give ourselves the best possible draw in the knockout stages,” said Ireland’s Harry McNulty. “We have had incredible support in Paris today and it has been electric playing in front of this crowd, so we’re excited to come back tomorrow to raise our game and hopefully progress through the competition.”
World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin said he believes Sevens will come age at the Paris Games. “Following rugby sevens’ debut at Rio 2016 and the Covid affected Tokyo Games, we firmly believe the sport will ‘come of age’ on the Olympic Stage at its third edition here in Paris – our biggest and best Olympics yet,” said Gilpin.
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“Sevens has proven to be one of the highest demand events in the Paris Games with more than 550,000 fans expected to fill Stade de France across the eight competition sessions.
“Being on sport’s biggest stage has been transformational for Rugby, particularly in emerging rugby nations and teams from all regions are now competing for Sevens titles demonstrating the global growth of the game.
“Paris 2024 presents a golden opportunity to grow our share of the Olympic audience globally, there has never been a greater spotlight on the sport and with the men’s final on 27 July seeing the first team sport gold medal of the Games awarded, some magical moments await.”
