How to Watch the Olympics for Free in 2024 [NO CABLE]
With the Paris 2024 Olympics almost here, you probably already know what channel will cover it in your location. However, knowing how to stream it online for free is a different ball game. This guide shows you how to watch the Olympics for free online and from anywhere in the world.
The events are shown on different channels and services internationally, so where you can watch it will depend on your location. This is also true if you stream it for free online — you’ll be blocked from accessing free services outside of your region. This is where a VPN comes in.
In this guide, we provide step-by-step instructions for using a VPN to access a free streaming service. Not just any VPN, though. You need one of the best VPNs to ensure you not only unblock the service, but also have fast enough speeds for a decent stream. For a quick answer, we recommend using ExpressVPN.
How to Watch the 2024 Olympic Games Online Without Cable: Free & Paid Options
Your best bet for watching the Olympics online is via a free streaming service, such as:
If you’re not in any of those countries, you can use a VPN to get access. This will change your IP address and fool the service into thinking you’re in the correct country. We’ll show you how to do this further down.
Of course, in the U.S., you can watch part of the Olympics on free-to-air channels NBC and Telemundo (Spanish): you can watch the opening and closing ceremonies, certain medal ceremonies and highlights from events for free on the NBC Olympics website.
If you want full access to those channels online, you’ll need a paid U.S. streaming service, such as fuboTV or YouTube TV — both have a free trial available.
Other paid U.S. channels, such as USA Network, CNBC, E!, the Golf Channel and another Spanish channel, Universo, will broadcast events.
With NBC being the official broadcaster in the U.S. for the 2024 Olympics, it’s no surprise that its own streaming service, Peacock, will show every single bit of the competition. That includes every sport, every medal being awarded — literally everything. Unfortunately, Peacock doesn’t offer a free trial. The service costs from $7.99 per month (or from $79.99 per year).
Olympic Streams: Where to Watch the Games Online
In this section, we’ve provided a table to show you all of the services that will show the Olympics online, both free and paid.
Service: | Country | Cost | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
BBC iPlayer | 🇬🇧 U.K. | Free | Create a free account |
9Now | 🇦🇺 Australia | Free | Create a free account |
CBC Gem | 🇨🇦 Canada | Free | Create a free account |
NBC website | 🇺🇸 USA | Free | Will show only the opening & closing ceremony, highlights & medals |
Peacock | 🇺🇸 USA | From $7.99 per month | No free trial. Shows all of the Olympics |
YouTube TV | 🇺🇸 USA | From $72.99 per month | Free trial (duration varies). Includes all U.S. channels covering the Olympics, including NBC & Telemundo |
FuboTV | 🇺🇸 USA | From $72.99 per month | 7-day free trial. Includes all U.S. channels covering the Olympics, including NBC & Telemundo |
Hulu + Live TV | 🇺🇸 USA | From $76.99 per month. | No free trial. Includes all U.S. channels covering the Olympics, including NBC & Telemundo. |
How to Watch the Summer Olympics Free Online Outside the U.S.
Here’s a step-by-step guide showing you how to stream the 2024 Olympics completely free. We’ve used BBC iPlayer in the U.K. for this example, but you can use similar steps to watch for free on 9Now in Australia or CBC Gem in Canada — just switch to the relevant server location.
- Subscribe to a VPN Service
Go to a VPN’s website and sign up for a plan. We suggest using ExpressVPN. It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which means you can get a refund at the end.
- Install the VPN
Download and install the VPN app onto your computer or other devices you want to watch the Olympics on. Open the app and log in to your account.
- Connect to a Server in the U.K.
Find and connect to a server in the U.K. (or Australia or Canada if you want to use a different free service). ExpressVPN’s server list will open when you click on the country section. You can then use the search bar or browse through the servers to find the one you need. Click on the server to connect.
- Create a Free BBC iPlayer Account
Go to the BBC iPlayer site and create a free account. You’ll need to provide a valid email for verification, a U.K. postcode (you can find a random one on Google) and click “yes” to having a TV License (you don’t need to prove this, it’s on an honor basis).
- Start Streaming the Olympics for Free
Next, search for the Olympics and start streaming it on BBC iPlayer.
The Best VPNs to Stream 2024 Olympics Coverage
To ensure you pick the best Olympics VPN, you need to make sure it includes certain features. Most importantly, it should have a great track record for unblocking streaming services. After that, the VPN should have fast speeds so you don’t suffer from buffering or poor resolution, and servers in the country you need them, such as the U.K. Here are our top picks.
- ExpressVPN — Best VPN for sports streaming. It has excellent speeds, servers in more than 100 countries and can easily unblock any platform. Read more in our ExpressVPN review.
- NordVPN — Has the fastest VPN speeds and can unblock streaming services with ease. It also has a huge server network with an interactive map, though it’s a bit clunky on mobile. Learn more in our NordVPN review.
- PrivadoVPN — A reputable VPN with a free plan that includes servers in the U.K., USA and Canada. It does have a 10GB monthly data limit, though. Read more in our PrivadoVPN review.
Schedule: Paris Olympics 2024 Dates
With more than 10,000 athletes from 209 nations taking part in various sports, you can imagine just how big the Olympic schedule looks. Here, we’ve provided a more simplified version of the official schedule.
Date: | Event | Location |
---|---|---|
July 26 | 🏟 Opening ceremony | River Seine & Trocadero Gardens |
July 25 – Aug. 4 | 🏹 Archery | Invalides |
July 25 – Aug. 4 | 🤸 Artistic gymnastics | Bercy Arena |
Aug. 5 – Aug. 10 | 🏊♀️ Artistic swimming | Bercy Arena |
Aug. 1 – Aug. 11 | 🏃 Athletics | Track & field – Stade de France Race walks – Trocadero Marathons – Invalides |
July 27 – Aug. 5 | 🏸 Badminton | La Chapelle Arena |
July 30 – Aug. 5 | ⛹️ 3×3 basketball | La Concorde |
July 27 – Aug. 11 | 🏀 Basketball | Group phase – Pierre Mauroy Stadium Finals – Bercy Arena |
July 27 – Aug. 10 | 🏐 Beach volleyball | Eiffel Tower Stadium |
July 27 – Aug. 10 | 🥊 Boxing | North Paris Arena / Roland-Garros Stadium |
Aug. 9 – Aug. 10 | 🕺 Breaking | La Concorde |
July 27 – Aug. 5 | 🛶 Canoe slalom | White water – Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium |
Aug. 6 – Aug. 10 | 🛶 Canoe sprint | Flat water – Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium |
July 30 – Aug. 2 | 🚴 Cycling BMX | Freestyle – Concorde Racing – BMX Stadium |
July 28-July 29 | 🚵 Cycling mountain bike | Elancourt Hill |
July 27 – Aug. 4 | 🚴♀️ Cycling road | Time trials – Pont Alexandre III Road races – Trocadero |
Aug. 5 – Aug. 11 | 🚲 Cycling track | National Velodrome |
July 27 – Aug. 10 | 🏊♀️ Diving | Aquatics Centre |
July 27 – Aug. 6 | 🐎 Equestrian | Chateau de Versailles |
July 27 – Aug. 4 | 🤺 Fencing | Grand Palais |
July 24 – Aug. 10 | ⚽ Football | Bordeaux Stadium Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium La Beaujoire Stadium Lyon Stadium Marseille Stadium Nice Stadium Parc de Princes (finals) |
Aug. 1 – Aug. 10 | 🏌️ Golf | Le Golf National |
July 25 – Aug. 11 | 🤾 Handball | Group stage – South Paris Arena Knockout phase – Pierre Mauroy Stadium |
July 27 – Aug. 9 | 🏑 Hockey | Yves-du-Manoir Stadium |
July 27 – Aug. 3 | 🥋 Judo | Champ-de-Mars Arena |
Aug. 8 – Aug. 9 | 🏊🏿♀️ Marathon swimming | Pont Alexandre III |
Aug. 8 – Aug. 11 | 🤻 Modern pentathlon | Ranking round – North Paris Arena Chateau de Versailles |
Aug. 8 – Aug. 10 | 🤸🏿♀️ Rhythmic gymnastics | La Chapelle Arena |
July 27 – Aug. 3 | 🚣♂️ Rowing | Flat water – Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium |
July 24 – July 30 | 🏉 Rugby sevens | Stade de France |
July 28 – Aug. 8 | ⛵ Sailing | Marseille Marina |
July 27 – Aug. 5 | ╾━╤デ╦︻ Shooting | Chateauroux Shooting Centre |
July 27 – Aug. 7 | 🛹 Skateboarding | La Concorde |
Aug. 5 – Aug. 10 | 🧗 Sport climbing | Le Bourget Climbing Venue |
July 27 – Aug. 4 | 🏄♀️ Surfing | Teahupo’o, Tahiti |
July 27 – Aug. 4 | 🏊🏿♀️ Swimming | Paris La Defense Arena |
July 27 – Aug. 10 | 🏓 Table tennis | South Paris Arena |
Aug. 7 – Aug. 10 | 🥋 Taekwondo | Grand Palais |
July 27 – Aug. 4 | 🎾 Tennis | Roland Garros |
Aug. 2 | 🤸🏾♂️ Trampoline gymnastics | Bercy Arena |
July 30 – Aug. 5 | 🏊♀️🚴♀️🏃🏽Triathlon | Pont Alexandre III |
July 27 – Aug. 11 | 🤾🏻♀️ Volleyball | South Paris Arena |
July 27 – Aug. 11 | 🤽 Water polo | Aquatics center, Paris La Defense Arena |
Aug. 7 – Aug. 11 | 🏋️♀️ Weightlifting | South Paris Arena |
Aug. 5 – Aug. 11 | 🤼 Wrestling | Champ-de-Mars Arena |
Aug. 11 | 🏟 Closing ceremony | Stade de France |
When Is the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony?
The Paris Olympics opening ceremony is on July 26. It’s been 100 years since the Olympics were hosted by France, and this opening ceremony is set to be unique with it being the first that isn’t held in a stadium. Instead, it will take place on the River Seine, allowing even more spectators — estimated to be around 600,000 — to enjoy it.
The parade of athletes will still be part of the tradition, with each nation having its own boat. The boat parade will travel through the center of Paris on the Seine, traveling six kilometers in total, and will end at the Trocadero Gardens, where the rest of the Olympic protocol will commence.
Final Thoughts
As the excitement builds, you now know how to catch all the action for the 2024 Olympics, and for free. As usual, various sports events will be included, such as swimming, handball and basketball — we have a separate guide if you want to know how to watch NBA games too.
All you need is a VPN, and ExpressVPN has repeatedly won gold for streaming sports. It’s compatible with lots of devices and if you have friends who want to watch too, it supports eight simultaneous connections. You can try ExpressVPN risk-free using the 30-day money-back guarantee — that’s long enough to watch every sport in the 16-day event.
Where will you watch the games? Will you watch the Olympics live or via highlight videos? Will you need to use a VPN? If so, which one will you choose? Let us know in the comment section and, as always, thank you for reading.
FAQ: Olympics 2024 Live Stream
-
You can stream the 2024 Olympics for free on BBC iPlayer in the U.K., 9Now in Australia and CBC Gem in Canada. You can only access those services from within the country, but if you’re not located there, you can use a VPN to spoof your way in.
-
Yes, you can watch it for free online with services like BBC iPlayer (U.K.), CBC Gem (Canada) and 9Now (Australia). You can use a VPN to get access if you’re not in the country. Alternatively, you can use a live TV streaming service in the U.S. to stream NBC Olympics coverage.
-
In the U.S., Peacock will show coverage for every moment of the Olympic events, live and on-demand, from the beginning in late July, right up until the end in August.