-By ArdorComm Media Bureau
August 12, 2024
The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, themed “Games Wide Open” (“Ouvrons grand les Jeux”), began on July 26, 2024, and will continue until August 11. The event features 10,714 athletes from 204 nations, competing in 329 events across 32 sports. The Olympics have notably influenced Internet traffic, especially in France, with variations in online activity driven by key moments in the games, website engagement, and cybersecurity challenges.
Significant Impact on Internet Traffic
For the first time in Olympic history, the opening ceremony was held outside a stadium, significantly affecting Internet traffic in France. During the nearly four-hour ceremony, internet usage dropped by 15% to 20% in the country compared to the previous week. Key moments, such as the lighting of the Olympic cauldron by Celine Dion, saw the largest traffic dip at 21:15 UTC, with a 20% decrease.
This trend mirrors previous patterns observed during major televised events like Euro 2024, where national engagement leads to drops in Internet traffic. Mobile traffic also spiked, with mobile device usage reaching 61% during the ceremony, up from 57% the previous week.
Parisians Leaving the City
The influx of tourists for the Olympics prompted many Parisians to leave the city, resulting in traffic drops in Île-de-France and Grand Est regions. In Île-de-France, traffic fell by 15% during the first week of July and by 8% the week before the Olympics began. However, there was no significant change during the Olympics week itself, indicating that the city had reached a balance between departures and arrivals.
Global Impact
Outside of France, the global Internet traffic saw less dramatic but still notable fluctuations during the opening ceremony. Countries like Italy, Japan, and New Zealand experienced drops in traffic, with decreases of up to 12%. The United States saw a 4% dip during key performances, reflecting the worldwide attention on the event.
Rising Interest in Olympic Websites
Interest in official Olympic websites surged with the start of the games. On July 27, the United States led with 16% of all DNS request traffic to these sites, followed by Germany and France. This marked a shift from the pre-Olympics period when France dominated DNS traffic. Global daily traffic to Olympic sites peaked on July 28, with a 509% increase from the previous week, reflecting heightened engagement as the competitions progressed.
Cybersecurity Concerns
The Olympics also saw a rise in cybersecurity threats, with a 304% increase in Olympics-related emails during the first week of the games compared to the previous week. While most of these were spam, a small percentage were classified as malicious, highlighting the ongoing risks associated with large-scale global events.
Conclusion
The Paris 2024 Olympics have had a substantial impact on Internet traffic, especially in France, as key moments during the games led to significant fluctuations in online activity. The rise in engagement with official Olympic websites and the surge in related cybersecurity threats underscore the event’s global reach and influence on the digital world. Cloudflare continues to monitor these trends, providing insights and protection to users as the games progress.