PARIS will host the 2024 Olympics, with top athletes on the planet hoping to win gold and achieve national pride for their country.
Here we take a look at the BBC presenters and pundits bringing the drama to a living room near you.
Over 250 hours of live coverage will be broadcast across BBC One and BBC Two, with further action aired on iPlayer to ensure you don’t miss a thing.
The highly-anticipated event kicks off on Friday, July 26 — just 12 days after England’s agonising loss to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
Below we get to know the BBC presenters and pundits covering the biggest sporting event in the world.
Clare Balding is an award-winning broadcaster, journalist and author who was born on January 29, 1971.
She comes from a family with strong ties to horse racing, and started her career covering the sport.
Between 1988 and 1993, Clare was a leading amateur flat jockey.
She won an award for her memoir — My Animals and Other Family, published in September 2012 — covering her time growing up in a racing yard.
In 1994, after studying English at Cambridge University, Clare started out working for the BBC as a trainee.
Clare works as a presenter for BBC Sport, Channel 4 and BT Sport.
The OBE-winning broadcaster hosted live coverage of the Royal Wedding on BBC One and fronted the BBC’s European Championships.
This followed a busy start to 2018 after she presented the Winter Olympics, Winter Paralympics, and the Commonwealth Games.
Clare’s other noteworthy roles include reporting from six Olympic Games, Channel 4 Racing, Wimbledon, the Boat Race, the Grand National and BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
On May 6, 2024, she also covered the King’s Coronation for the BBC.
Gabrielle “Gabby” Logan was born in Leeds to former Welsh international footballer Terry Yorath and his wife Christine on April 24, 1973.
She moved around a lot as a child due to her dad’s career, which also sparked her interest in football.
Gabby was good at netball and high jump at school, but excelled at gymnastics.
At her peak she came in 11th place in rhythmic gymnastics while representing Wales at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland.
Despite showing much promise, she had to retire from the sport aged 17 due to sciatica.
After finishing her degree at Durham University, Gabby began presenting on Metro Radio in Newcastle.
She then became a presenter on Sky Sports in 1996 and left in 1998 to work for ITV.
From 2007, she started presenting for BBC sport, often standing in for Gary Lineker on Match Of The Day.
She’s the face of athletics on the channel, fronting the Olympics, London Marathon, Commonwealth Games and World Athletics Championships.
She was also part of the BBC’s presenting team for Euro 2024.
Both Gabby and her husband competed on series five of Strictly Come Dancing in 2007.
Partnered with James Jordan, Gabby was booted off in week four, while her husband finished in fifth place with James’ wife Ola.
Logan has also hosted coverage of the Aquatics World Championships.
Gabby has won Sports Presenter of the Year four times at the Television and Radio Industries Club Awards in 2000, 2002, 2004, and in 2014.
The top presenter is also one of the main hosts of BBC Sports Personality Of The Year.
Gabby received an MBE in the 2020 New Year Honours List.
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Hazel Jane Irvine was born on May 24, 1965 in St Andrews, Scotland.
She made history aged 28 when she became the youngest presenter of the BBC’s leading sports show Grandstand on June 19, 1993.
While studying art history at the University of St Andrews, Hazel competed in golf, netball and athletics
She joined Radio Clyde in 1986 before moving over to Scottish television in 1988 as a continuity announcer.
Haze co-presented ITV coverage of the 1988 Olympics alongside Dickie Davies, and also reported from the Scotland football team’s training camp during the 1990 World Cup in Italy.
During the same year she moved to the BBC, working as a presenter for BBC Scotland’s Sportscene programme.
In 1995, Hazel began hosting coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and reporting for Football Focus.
She has been a presenter for the BBC at every Summer Olympics since Barcelona 1992, commentating on the opening and closing ceremonies at the London 2012 Olympics.
In addition she has covered five Winter Olympics, four FIFA World Cup tournaments, and fronted the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
She’s been the face of Ski Sunday, the Women’s British Golf Open, and has also fronted coverage of historic occasions including the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings and VE Day celebrations.
In the 2024 New Year Honours, she was awarded an MBE for her contributions to sport and charitable activities.
Isa Guha was born on May 21, 1985 and raised in High Wycombe.
Her parents are from Calcutta, West Bengal, India.
As a youngster she enjoyed playing cricket as a hobby with her older brother, going on to be selected for the England Development side at the age of 13.
When she was 17, Isa became the very first woman of South Asian heritage to represent England in any sport.
The right-arm bowler featured in a Test encounter against India during their tour in 2002, as well as playing in the 2002 Women’s Tri-Series.
Isa won BBC Asian Network Sports Personality of the Year award the same year.
Three years later she helped England regain the Ashes on home soil for the first time in 42 years.
In December 2008, Isa was ranked the world No1 bowler in the ICC Women’s One-Day international rankings.
The pinnacle of her sporting career was arguably 2009, when she was part of the England team that dominated cricket, winning the Ashes, World Cup and T20 World Cup.
Isa bowed out of the sport in 2012 as England’s second highest wicket taker in the all-time England Women’s one-day international list, as well as ranking sixth in the world, having earned 113 caps for her country.
The cricket icon made her presenting debut during ITV4’s Indian Premier League coverage in 2011, leading to more work with Sky Sports, the BBC and various broadcasters located around the West Indies and United States.
Isa became a commentator for both Sky Sports and Fox Cricket in 2018.
In 2020, she got the gig as lead presenter and commentator for the BBC’s cricket coverage — bringing live cricket back to terrestrial television for the first time in 21 years.
Isa is also a popular figure in the world of tennis, regularly featuring on the BBC’s morning Wimbledon coverage.
Jeanette Kwayke was born in Woodford Green, London on March 20, 1983.
During her teenage years she ran for Woodford Green and Essex Ladies, progressing through the junior ranks and turning pro in 2005.
She won British championship medals over 100 and 200 metres in 2007.
Her highest achievement came in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games when she became the first British woman in 24 years to make it to the 100m final, ultimately finishing sixth.
Jeanette was forced to withdraw from competitions in 2010 having suffered from Achilles tendon and knee injuries.
But she came back to reach the 100m semi-finals in the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, before becoming the 100m women’s British champion later the same year.
Jeanette failed to qualify for the London 2012 Olympics due to another injury, but won the British 60m indoor title to make up for it.
Since retiring from the sport, she has presented for Sky Sports, Channel 5 and the BBC, and has covered the Olympics, European and Commonwealth Games.
Jeanette has also worked for Channel 4 and featured on the One Show.
John James “JJ” Chalmers was born on December 20, 1986 in Edinburgh.
He is a former Royal Marine and sportsman, who won medals at Prince Harry‘s Invictus Games and is a close friend of the duke.
JJ grew up in Renton, Scotland, where his father was the minister of Renton Trinity Church and his mother Liz was a teacher.
He was severely injured in a bomb blast in Afghanistan while serving as a Lance Corporal in the Royal Marines in 2011.
The explosion claimed the lives of two soldiers and left nine others maimed or traumatised.
JJ suffered injuries to his arms and legs, lost two fingers and was left with scarring on his face and chest, with one of his arms temporarily grafted to his body.
In 2016, he landed a spot hosting the Invictus Games, and since then the TV gigs have rolled in.
He was also part of the presenting team for the BBC’s Trooping of the Colour coverage in 2018.
JJ took also part in Strictly in 2020, partnering with Amy Dowden, and was eliminated in the quarter finals after losing the dance-off to Jamie Laing and Karen Hauer.
Mark Chapman, affectionately known as Chappers, was born in Rochdale in 1973, but spent most of his youth in Sale.
Mark attended Manchester Grammar School, during which time developed an interest in radio broadcasting.
After graduating from Hull University, he began his career as a continuity announcer on BBC Two in 1996, before becoming the cricket correspondent for BBC North East radio.
He is best known for hosting Match Of The Day 2, and is also often seen on Final Score.
Chappers also presents the Saturday afternoon football show on BBC Radio 5 Live, 606, as well as discussion programme The Monday Night Club on the same station.
A shock addition was revealed in July, when Fred Sirieix was confirmed as part of the team.
He was born on January 27, 1972 and raised in Limogenes, France.
Fred has said that he knew he wanted to work in the hospitality industry from an early age.
After attending catering college and initially training as a chef, he ultimately chose to focus on front of house.
He trained as a maître d’ in France before moving to London, where he worked at swanky restaurants including La Tante Claire in Chelsea and Le Gavroche in Mayfair.
Fred is best know from Channel 4’s First Dates, where strangers looking for love are matched on blind dates at fancy restaurant The Refinery in Manchester — he is also the face of First Dates Hotel.
But the restauranteur is taking the mic for the BBC, including analysing his 19-year-old daughter Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix‘s performance in the diving event.
Dame Laura Kenny is the most successful female cyclist in Olympic history.
She was born in Harlow, Essex on April 24, 1992, but a celebrated sporting career wasn’t on the cards when she was diagnosed with asthma shortly after birth.
But she overcame the odds and during her spectacular career won gold in the omnium and team pursuit at both London 2012 and Rio 2016.
She won the Madison with Katie Archibald at Tokyo 2020, as well as a silver in the team pursuit.
Laura has also claimed and incredible seven world titles.
The 31-year-old announced her retirement from the sport on March 18, 2024, marking the end of a medal-filled career.
Jazmin Sawyers was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire on May 21, 1994.
The multi-talented star began her sporting journey as a gymnast at the tender age of four.
She moved over to athletics aged 10, joining the City of Stoke Athletics Club, where she focused on long jump and high jump.
At the 2007 English Schools Championships, she was the runner-up in the high jump behind Katarina Johnson-Thompson, before winning schools titles in long jump and pentathlon in 2008 and 2009.
In 2011, she won gold at the Commonwealth Youth Games and was chosen to represent England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where she took home silver.
She went on to win another long-jump silver at the 2016 European Championships, added a bronze to her collection in 2022, and won gold in the same event at the 2023 European Indoor Championships.
As well as heptathlon and long-jump, in 2012 Jazmin represented Great Britain at the Winter Youth Olympics in the bobsleigh.
She and Mica McNeil won silver in the event — becoming the nation’s first ever medal-winning team at the competition.
As a result, she was chosen as one of the carriers for the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay.
And alongside her busy sports schedule, she is also a singer/songwriter.
In February 2017, she appeared on ITV’s The Voice and was chosen by Will.I.Am during the blind auditions, but was eliminated from the show in a sing-off with Hayley Eccles.
In the lead up to the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Jazmin recorded a new version of Jerusalem with Britain’s Got Talent winner Tokio Myers to support Team England at the Games.
On 25 April 2024, Jazmin announced that she had undergone surgery after rupturing the Achilles tendon on her take-off leg, and would therefore miss the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Mohammed Karim Sbihi was born to a British mother and Moroccan father in Kingston, Surrey on March 27, 1988.
He studied Sport Science with Health, Nutrition & Exercise at St Mary’s University College, Twickenham on a sports scholarship, where he played both basketball and football.
He was spotted by a talent scout at the age of 15 and joined the GB Rowing World Class Start programme.
Moe competed at his first Olympic Games in London 2012 and was part of the British crew that won the bronze medal in the eight.
In 2013, he was part of the men’s eight that won gold at the World Rowing Championships.
He won two gold medals in the coxless four in 2014 — at the European Rowing Championships in Belgrade and the World Championships in Amsterdam.
Moe was part of the GB coxless four at the Rio 2016 Olympics that won the gold medal in the event — Britain’s fifth consecutive win.
In 2015, he won gold at the World Championships for the third consecutive year.
Two years later he won bronze at the World Rowing Championships in Sarasota, Florida.
He then won a bronze medal at the 2018 World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, as part of the eight.
The rower was chosen as Team GB’s flagbearer for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics’ opening ceremony, where he also returned to the eight, again taking home bronze.
In 2021, he also won a European gold medal in the eight in Varese, Italy.
But at the Paris 2024 Olympics he’s taking on a new challenge altogether — providing in-depth analysis as a pundit.
Other Olympic legends brining their expert insight to the games include Vicky Holland, Beth Tweddle, Chris Hoy, Denise Lewis, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Kate Richardson-Walsh, Katherine Grainger, Laura Kenny, Mark Foster, Michael Johnson, Nicola Adams, Rebecca Adlington and Tonia Couch.
Adrian Chiles, Eleanor Oldroyd, Kelly Cates, Naga Munchetty and Tony Livesey are leading BBC Radio 5 Live‘s extensive coverage of the games.
