Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium

The Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, delivered in June 2019, will host the Olympic rowing and canoe-kayak events, and the Paralympic para rowing and para canoe-kayak events at the Vaires-Torcy leisure complex in 2024. The French Rowing and Canoe-Kayak Federations are delighted with this brand-new Nautical Stadium, which was the first newly developed Olympic facility to be delivered, in 2019.

Designed by the architects Auer+Weber+Assoziierte, the complex is structured around three core features of the Vaires-Torcy leisure base: the lake, the white-water stadium and the living area, which includes the new buildings with a landscaped roof that can be accessed for walks. The 4,400 sqm sports centre comprises: the new white-water stadium and its two courses over 300 and 150 metres; the 2,200m rowing and sprint canoe-kayak course, equipped with a finishing tower; a sports medicine centre; a weight-training centre; various administrative spaces and a media centre. In addition to a training and accommodation centre.

This outstanding hub will bring together the representative bodies of these water sports and welcome athletes of all levels: for canoeing-kayaking, it is already home to the headquarters of the French Federation and its regional committee, as well as its national and youth hubs; for rowing, it will be home to the Île-de-France Rowing League and its youth hub, as well as the French Rowing Federation’s logistics platform. The overall complex is an international centre of excellence for sport. Along with Beijing and Sydney, it is one of three sites in the world with the facilities needed to host the Olympic and Paralympic canoe-kayak and rowing events.

Capacity

For the canoe-kayak sprint and rowing events: 24,000 spectators (14,000 seated and 10,000 standing).

For the canoe-kayak slalom events: 12,000 people will be able to gather around the white-water site.

During the Paralympic Games, the complex will have capacity for up to 12,000 people for the Para canoe competitions, and 14,000 for Para rowing.

What sports for Paris 2024?

Olympic Games:

Canoe-kayak:

Sprint
- C-1 1,000m (men’s)
- C-1 200m (women’s)
- C-2 1,000m (men’s)
- C-2 500m (women’s)
- K-1 1,000m (men’s)
- K-1 500m (women’s)
- K-2 500m (women’s / men’s)
- K-4 500m (women’s / men’s)
Slalom
- K-1 (women’s / men’s)
- C-1 (women’s / men’s)
- K-1 extreme (women’s / men’s)

Rowing:

Single Sculls (women’s / men’s)
Pair (women’s / men’s)
Double Sculls (women’s / men’s)
Coxless Four (women’s / men’s)
Quadruple Sculls (women’s / men’s)
Eight (women’s / men’s)
Lightweight Double Sculls (women’s / men’s)

Paralympic Games:

Para canoe and para rowing (TBD)

Where is it located?

Department: Seine-et-Marne (77)

City: Vaires-sur-Marne

Distance from the Olympic and Paralympic Village: 39km

Tourist attractions located nearby: Disneyland Paris theme park, former Menier chocolate factory.

How to get there?

The Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium will be served by Bussy‑Saint‑Georges station (RER line A), from where a special direct shuttle bus will transfer spectators to the venue, and by Vaires Torcy station (train line P from the Gare de l’Est in central Paris). The calm-water lake (rowing and para rowing) will also be served by a shuttle bus from Chelles Gournay station (RER line E).

Spectators are advised to allow sufficient travel time and to arrive early at the competition site.

Legacy

This major project, the only one of its kind in Europe, meets the demand for leisure facilities serving communities in the Paris Region, while satisfying the standards of excellence required for high-level athletes. Integrated within a 150-hectare site with remarkable landscaping, including 450 trees that have been planted, to provide a space where Paris Region communities can enjoy “somewhere to breathe” in an urban setting, the new facilities have been developed in line with a high environmental quality (HQE) approach, successfully protecting and showcasing this site. Looking beyond elite competition, the white-water stadium enables the Vaires-Torcy leisure complex to offer a wider selection of leisure activities to benefit communities from across the Paris Region. Alongside the activities already available around the lake, such as rowing, canoeing-kayaking, catamaran sailing, stand-up paddle-boarding, windsurfing and dinghy sailing, the white-water stadium offers rafting, hydrospeeding and, of course, canoeing and kayaking.

Key figures

4,400 sqm sports complex.
2km training channel.
250m landscaped river section on the banks of the River Marne.
5 hectares of landscaped areas.
450 trees planted, providing a space where Paris Region communities can enjoy “somewhere to breathe” in an urban setting.
35 full-time jobs to run the site.