Stay informed about Paris 2024
Plenty of acitivties happening leading up to the Olympic and Paralympic games in Paris in 2024. Read the latest news here.
Athlete: Florian Van Acker
Date of Birth: 2/28/1997
Sport: Table Tennis
Florian Van Acker is a Belgian Paralympic table tennis player, Paralympic Champion, World Champion, and double European Champion in the men's singles.
After trying out several different sports, like horse riding, badminton, judo and basketball, he started playing table tennis at the age of 10. His talent was discovered by his friend and neighbour William Claerbout, and together they started to train extensively. Florian has an intellectual disability and autism. This however did not stop him from working hard as he set out on his journey, winning his first medal at his first ever tournament in 2013.
After many years at the top, winning several more medals, Florian’s personal highlight is still becoming Paralympic Champion in Rio in 2016. Conditions were not ideal back then, however, he still came out on top. According to Florian this is due to his dedicated focus and hard work: you need to put in the effort and be committed to achieve your goals.
Florian & Toyota
For the kick-off of their new fiscal year, Toyota Material Handling Belgium organised a table tennis tournament among their employees. Being part of team Toyota, Florian participated in the event, playing a match against the local Toyota Material Handling champion. It was a memorable game, with Florian as a winner. We wish him all the best with his objectives gearing up for Paris 2024!
28/4/2023
Athlete Mathias Mester
Date of Birth: 15/09/1986
Sport: Javelin, Short Put, Discus throw
'Nothing is impossible' is an attitude Mathias Mester applies to everything in life. His achievements in sports perfectly demonstrate this. Mathias is a multiple World and European Champion in 3 athletic disciplines (shot put, discus throw and javelin throw), as well as a Paralympic silver medallist.
During his career, he set himself new sporting goals, again and again. His ambition remains untainted. At the same time, he is very open about his stature and he is a strong advocate of inclusion in sports. He also shines as a presenter and entertainer outside the world of sport.
Mathias has always considered himself to be a “funny bird”, and it’s exactly this sense of humour that helped him to pursue his seemingly impossible goals. “If you ask me, you should have fun in all you do. I feel it's very, very important that you love doing something and that you go for it 100%. And above all, some small advice I always like to give, you shouldn't let other people talk you into things. If you have a goal, then you should work towards it and don’t allow your self-esteem to be ruined by other people saying you can't do whatever. In my opinion, you can somehow go your own way, if you just believe in yourself and keep your eye on the goal.”
Mathias & Toyota
As a member of Team Toyota, Mathias was a special guest at our LogiMAT stand, i.e. the International Trade Show for Intralogistics Solutions and Process Management, where he also joined the “Irgendwas mit Logistik” podcast.
26/4/2023
Make the Seine swimmable again
History is in the making. An ingenious system has been designed so that sewage water does not pollute the river Seine during Paris 2024, and beyond. Its once heavily polluted waterway will be fit for swimming again.
The 10K swimming marathon, part of the triathlon, and one Paralympics swimming event are set to start in the Seine. The river will also be used for the nations parade past Paris' most famous monuments and vistas along the Seine during the opening ceremony.
Officials predict the revival of fish stocks and restoration of river foliage. A dip in the Seine could also give Parisians a relief from scorching summer temperatures, a phenomenon most major cities have to deal with.
Authorities banned swimming in the river in 1923 because of high levels of pollution. By next spring, if all goes to plan, Parisians will be legally allowed to swim in the river again for the first time in a century. Imagine, what would more romantic than swimming at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
The Aquatic Centre
A new Aquatics Centre will be designed for Paris 2024, and along with the climbing wall in Le Bourget, it will be the only sports facility built permanently for this edition.
Once the Games are over, the Aquatic Centre will provide the inhabitants of Seine-Saint-Denis and French swimming a facility that can host the biggest national and international competitions.
Its compact building volume and innovative modular format will allow the Aquatic Centre to scale up from 5,000 seats during the Games to 2,500 seats to serve as a proper, much needed sports facility in the area. A low-carbon facility, designed entirely from bio-sourced materials. The new aquatic centre’s framework made of wood will blend in with the green spaces that will be dotted across the open ground around the stadium. The 5,000 m2 roof covered with photovoltaic panels makes the centre one of the largest urban solar farms in France, completely self-sufficient in energy. Interior fittings are "made in France", made from recycled products. From July 2025, the Aquatic Centre will open to all as a beautiful and innovative multi-sports centre, including fitness and bouldering areas, paddle tennis and team sports fields. The construction works are expected to finish end 2023.
Working together
A convergence of people at the Olympic & Paralympic Games Paris 2024, will pose significant logistical challenges and make transport operations in densely populated areas more complex. To anticipate the urban logistics problems that the international event could create, the Greater Paris Metropolis has brought together private and public players. The working group aims to successfully maintain the quality of life for the locals, with different stakeholders all working closely together. The solutions put in place are to optimise day-to-day travel: temporary authorisations granted to lorries to deliver to shops in designated areas, exceptional parking measures, night-time deliveries, postponement of activities where possible, pooling or massification of deliveries or storage, etc.
To be able to maintain existing services, but also facilitate the requirements linked to the flows generated by Paris 2024, all players involved, both public and private, must coordinate their actions.
>Jean-Michel Genestier, metropolitan councillor responsible for metropolitan logistics and mayor of Raincy in Seine-Saint-Denis, in an article published in Voxlog Magazine.
17/03/2023
The Opening ceremony
For the first time in Olympic history, the opening ceremony of Paris 2024 will not take place in a stadium, but on the water, on the river Seine. 10,500 athletes from 206 countries will descend the river by boat over 6 km. The fleet of 160 boats will pass by several iconic landmarks in the French capital, such as Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Louvre Museum and arrive at the Eiffel Tower. All along the riverbanks, 600,000 spectators are expected to gather to catch a glimpse of this unprecedented spectacle. That’s about ten times the capacity of a stadium in Olympic configuration. An estimate of 2,6 billion spectators worldwide will watch the broadcast of the ceremony.
After the Games, the Media Village will be left to local residents as part of the Paris 2024 legacy. The organisers involved are the French State, the Organising Committee and the City of Paris.
Published 14/03/2023
Salon PRODURABLE, an eco-responsible event
Paris 2024 is meant to be environmentally exemplary: since the beginning of the bid, the emphasis has been on sustainability. From the very beginning, focus lies on second life: these will be circular Olympic & Paralympic Games. How can we contribute to defining a new era in the organisation?
At PRODURABLE 2022, Toyota Material Handling attended a seminar on Paris 2024. Since 2007, PRODURABLE has been the largest European eco-responsible event, bringing together a community of decision-makers and actors working exploring solutions for the sustainable economy.
Some eco-responsible figures about Paris 2024:
- 50% fewer emissions than Tokyo 2020
- 100% renewable energy
- 100% of venues accessible by public transport
- 13 million meals served, with 50% fewer emissions than a conventional meal
- 100% of the sites will be connected to the electricity network by a double line to avoid the use of generators
- 95% of infrastructure already existing
Ryadh Sallem (Paralympic athlete, member of the French wheelchair rugby team) concluded the conference: "These Games will be a great popular festival and a great opportunity to look at disability differently!"
14/09/2022
Start Your Impossible challenges
Save water challenge
This was the first in a series of challenges with the aim to make Toyota Material Handling Europe employees a little bit more environmentally conscious. Over a period of 22 days, the aim was to reduce the water consumption by 1,200 liters per person. At the end of the challenge, Toyota Material Handling Europe employees have reduced their water consumption by approximately 246,774 liters!
"The challenge made me realise how small and easy changes of habit can have a big impact in the long run. After all, saving water shows directly in your wallet, in the form of lower water and electricity bills."- Karri Järvi, Service Technician.
April 2023
Volunteering Challenge
During this Start Your impossible challenge, Toyota Material Handling Europe employees had a possibility to give back to society. This initiative allowed our employees to volunteer during working hours. The intention was to enable joint team efforts throughout the company, not only to support local established charity organisations, but also to strengthen team spirit and working in groups.
"It makes you reflect on ‘what can I do to make the world a better place?’, and it's not always the big things or countries far away. It can start as close as in your own town. Small steps, big impact."– Elisabeth Mohr, Sales Process & Application developer.
January 2023