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Impact of the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games on emergency department visits and emergency medical service activity[1]

Fantou A, Scire J, Yordanov Y, Adnet F, Wargon M, Freund Y · 2026 · Eur J Emerg Med

Summary

Retrospective population-based study of all EDs and EMS dispatch centers in Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis (the main Olympic host departments), analyzing >3.7 million ED visits from 2019-2024 (pandemic years excluded), standardized to 2024 activity levels. During the core Olympic weeks, adjusted weekly ED visits were slightly LOWER than comparison years (-0.9% to -3.6%); EMS calls rose ~10% and physician-staffed mobile ICU dispatches 5-8%. Patient age and case profiles were stable. Concludes the Games did not increase ED utilization but shifted demand modestly toward prehospital services; offered as a baseline reference for future large-scale events.

So what

The definitive hospital-impact answer for a modern security-planned Olympics: EDs saw NOTHING (slightly fewer visits — the displacement effect), while the surge expressed itself upstream in EMS call volume and physician-response units. For FIFA 2026 / LA28 planners this reframes the preparedness question from "surge the EDs" to "surge the dispatch and prehospital tier," and it gives the ED-impact literature (PoshtMashhadi's heterogeneity, Borshoff's leakage) its largest single-event denominator: 3.7M visits analyzed, from the Paris SAMU/academic network.

Key findings

  • Paris 2024: adjusted weekly ED visits DOWN 0.9-3.6% during core Olympic weeks
  • EMS calls +10%; physician-staffed mobile ICU dispatches +5-8%
  • 3.7M ED visits analyzed, 2019-2024 baseline standardization
  • Demand shifted to the prehospital tier, not hospitals - displacement effect at security-planned events
  • Offered as the baseline reference for future mega-event planning

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