BIM & Digital Twins at the Paris 2024 Olympics

The Paris 2024 Olympics has taken the world by storm: from Yusuf Dikec’s relaxed shooting demeanor, to Kim Ye-Ji’s confident stances, to China’s mesmerizing Artistic Swimming performance. There are however two unsung heroes powering all of this: Building Information Modelling (BIM) and BIM-powered digital replicas called Digital Twins. The latter, broadly, are virtual representations of objects or systems that simulate their real-life counterparts’ functionalities in real time.

BIM and Digital Twins have been of paramount importance to the Paris 2024 Olympics. They have empowered athletes to train more intelligently and effectively, promoted the legacy usability of stadiums and the Athletes Village, and supported the development of sustainable and agile infrastructures built specifically for the events.

Let us get into the specifics of how these innovative technologies support the Olympics below!

Paris 2024 Olympics Digital Twins for Enhanced Athlete Training

Digital Twins for Swimmers

Digital Twins are used at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games to assist swimmers in strategic body optimization and race planning. These virtual replicas use advanced sensors to study the body movements of swimmers and measure their force distribution, enabling them to pinpoint flaws in their technique and adjust their training accordingly. They can also analyze breathing patterns and tempos to optimize every aspect of performance and improve odds of victory.

It is reported that Olympian Katherine Douglass used digital twins to optimize her head position and improve her 200-meter breaststroke time—exemplifying how impactful this technology can be.

Digital Twins for Surfing Simulations

Digital Twins were used to create wave pools that simulated ideal surfing conditions, miles away from the ocean, for training purposes. Replicas of these pools and their pneumatic fans helped analyze airflow and wave strength, which led to optimized environments that could generate more than 400 waves an hour. Such pools enable athletes to practice surfing in a controlled environment that captures a typical ocean experience. Continuous data monitoring and predictive maintenance ensure efficient facility operations.

Digital Twins Support Soccer / Football Training

Digital Twins provide a wide array of real-time data for football, enabling deep performance analysis and tailored training programs. By running simulations of gameplay scenarios, coaches can analyze players’ biomechanics to devise strategies that enhance movement and decision-making. Wearable sensors capture physiological parameters which are replicated in digital twins to study fatigue levels and predict injuries—culminating in personalized training that optimizes performance while minimizing risk.

BIM Modeling Ensures Sustainable Infrastructural Legacies

Athletes Village’s Profound Legacy

One prevalent problem with Olympic construction has been the functionality and utility of venues after the Games. For Paris 2024, architects, designers, and engineers emphasized legacy and adaptive reusability. Interactive 3D models powered by BIM helped developers, local governing bodies, and public stakeholders design the Athletes Village as a hub reconnecting the underutilized Sienne region—Île Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis, and Saint-Ouen—with other metropolitan areas across Paris, not just during the Olympics but well into the future.

Looking ahead, Parisians will benefit for years. The space will accelerate public-transport use between sites and surrounding regions. After the Olympics, the hamlet will convert to a new business and residential area with 6,000 additional apartments; 25% will be public housing and 33% will be affordable housing for students and low-income workers. Underground power lines in the Canal Saint-Denis, which borders the Village, have been re-engineered and are anticipated to raise living standards at relatively low energy and resource costs.

BIM Modeling Supported Eiffel Tower’s Makeover

The Eiffel Tower received a thorough makeover for the 2024 Olympics, shedding its familiar bronze-brown for a shade of gold as originally envisioned by Gustave Eiffel. Unlike prior aesthetic-only renovations, 2024’s revamp focused on total optimization of the tower and its surroundings—while preserving its iconic aura. Re-engineering required processing a staggering amount of data, including:

  • A 324-meter tower, 18,000 metal components, and 2.5 million rivets
  • Gravel paths
  • 425 benches
  • 560 lights
  • 25 statues
  • 100 bins
  • 1,000 buildings
  • 8,200 trees

All of this amounted to over 350 GB of data and cost over 50 million euros—and it was made possible with the support of BIM.

With smart 3D modeling and collaborative environments, BIM allowed teams to reimagine the Tower and its surroundings as an agile system that serves 21st-century needs such as pedestrian mobility, sustainability, green energy, and climate-resilience.

This data-driven approach ensured detailed planning and execution. Scan-to-BIM and laser scanning enabled precise documentation; BIM coordination streamlined communication among architects, engineers, and contractors for efficient, cost-effective delivery. VDC-powered VR tours let Parisians visualize designs, choose a winning option, and feel ownership. Detailed 3D models also supported compliance with Paris’ strict building codes.

The winning design reintroduced greenery and reclaimed pedestrian spaces, adding reinforced lawns and two new amphitheaters on the Champs de Mars gardens to create vibrant gathering spots.

Digital Twins Guarantee Sustainable Stadiums

Earlier Olympic hosts like Athens and Barcelona lacked technology to plan and build environmentally sustainable, cost-effective stadiums. Paris, however, leveraged BIM, Digital Twins, and AI to deliver carbon- and cost-conscious venues. With many stakeholders involved, errors and inconsistencies can cause delays and extra costs; digitization ensures accuracy, transparency, and flexibility across complex supply chains for more sustainable outcomes.

BIM’s ability to compile data into intelligent models enabled creation of stadium digital twins. These replicas helped teams visualize component interactions and make data-driven lifecycle plans with sustainability in mind. For example, 2024 stadiums use rooftop solar to run on 100% renewable energy.

Digital Twins for Optimized Olympics Infrastructure

Pont Alexandre III Optimized for Triathlons

Pont Alexandre III spans the Seine, connecting two Paris 2024 venues—Grand Palais and Invalides—while hosting events like Triathlon and Para Triathlon. With BIM scanning, 3D modeling, and Digital Twins, organizers visualized temporary overlays on the bridge and planned crowd and traffic management. Responsive models reflected 2D plan changes in real-time 3D, accounting for weather and temporary infrastructure (e.g., media spaces, seating zones). This gave confidence to handle multiple variables and ensure smooth operations.

Digital Twins Propelled the Construction of Le Bourget

Le Bourget is one of two sports facilities built specifically for Paris 2024, hosting Sport Climbing with five walls across indoor/outdoor areas plus warm-up/recreation walls. Digital Twins enabled organizers to visualize the new space. Fast model load times helped them iterate layouts and accelerate planning, ensuring the venue was optimized for the events.

A Well-Integrated Aquatics Centre Using Digital Twins

The Aquatics Centre, the second new permanent venue (Artistic Swimming, Diving, Water Polo), sits in a large district that had to be woven into operations. Digital Twins helped plan integration, accounting for crowd movement during events and enabling resource timelines, security, and crowd management planning.

Conclusion

The reach and extent of BIM and Digital Twins are deeper than many expect. They support athletes and coaches in tailored training, help engineers and architects create sustainable, function-optimized infrastructure, and aid city planners in securing long-lasting legacies. These innovations push the Olympics forward while enabling the AEC industry to model complex, large-scale structures with reduced cost and carbon emissions.