By Victor Kanayo
Fans making plans to grace the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games will have to make do with only soft drinks and water, after organisers revealed that alcohol won’t be allowed within the stadium.
But the organisers decided not to seek an exemption to a law prohibiting the sale of alcohol within game area.
The Exemption
Part of the exemption is that VIPs are allowed to take champagne while at the stadium.
Under Evin’s Law, which has been in place since 1991, alcohol is banned from sale to the general public inside stadiums in France, and Games organisers had not sought an exemption, a Paris 2024 spokesperson told Reuters.
The law allows for an exemption for 10 events per organizer per year per municipality.
Such an exemption would have required a change in the law for an event the size of the Games.
Same As 2022 World Cup
During 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Alcohol was also banned from stadiums.
At 2020 Tokyo Olympics which held in 2021, events were eventually held without spectators due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Beer and wine were available at the 2012 and 2016 Games in London and Rio de Janeiro.