If you’re an eventing fan, like us, then you’ve likely been counting down the days until the Olympic eventing competition at the Paris Olympics. With the first two phases done and dusted, we will all be on tenterhooks awaiting news from Monday’s second horse inspection (which isn’t going to be televised), then settling down to watch the two rounds of showjumping, with the first deciding the team medals, before the individual Olympic champion is crowned after round two. If you’re fortunate enough to be living in Australia or Canada, you’ll be able to watch all the action for free, but wherever you are in the world, we have what you need to know to watch eventing at the Paris Olympics live.
If you’re outside your normal country of residence, but want your usual coverage, or if you’d like to have the additional online security offered by a VPN connection, check out the NordVPN, where you can get 73% off, plus a 30-day money back guarantee, and follow the instructions below.
Watch the eventing for free: CBC (Canada) | 9Now (Australia) |
Use Nord VPN to watch your stream from abroad
How to watch eventing at the Paris Olympics in the UK
Some of the Olympic action will be broadcast by the BBC on BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer, however, the BBC won’t have all the action. The Olympic broadcast rights in the UK currently belong to Eurosport and its streaming arm Discovery+. A subscription to Discovery+ costs £6.99 per month or £59.99 for the year, and lets you tune in on a wide range of devices, as well as the Eurosport TV channels, so if you are in the UK and want to watch all the action, you’ll need to subscribe.
Timetable in brief for UK viewers
Friday 26 July: first horse inspection (not available to watch online or on TV) 9.30am (8.30am British time)
Saturday 27 July: dressage – 8.30am (7.30am British time)
Sunday 28 July: cross-country – 9.30am (8.30am British time)
Monday 29 July: second horse inspection (not available to watch online or on TV) 7.30am (6.30am British time)
showjumping team final – 10am (9am British time)
showjumping individual final – 2pm (1pm British time)
BBC’s planned coverage on Monday 29 July
According to the BBC website, there will coverage of the team jumping final (alongside boxing and table tennis) on BBC One/Two and iPlayer at 12noon, followed by the individual final at 3pm. In addition, iPlayer and Red Button will be broadcasting the team jumping final from 10am until 12noon, and the individual jumping final from 2pm until 4pm. However, the website does say that this is subject to change.
But what if you aren’t at home to catch the equestrian coverage of the Paris Olympics? Maybe you’re on holiday and don’t want to spend money on pay TV in another country? Don’t worry — you can watch it using a VPN instead. We explain how below.
How to watch eventing at the Paris Olympics live from outside your country
If you have subscribed to the relevant Paris Olympics rights holders, but are travelling abroad, you won’t be able to use this service to watch the Paris Olympics action when outside your own country. The service will know your location based on your IP address, and will automatically geoblock your access.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) helps you get around this obstacle. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and the internet, ensuring that all the information passing back and forth is entirely encrypted.
There are many VPN providers out there, with some more reliable and safe than others. As a rule, we’d suggest a paid-for service such as NordVPN, where you can get 73% off. This offer also offers a 30-day money back guarantee if you’re not happy with the service.
How to use a VPN
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. NordVPN is the one we recommend.
2. Open up the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access. For instance, if you’re away from the UK and want to view a British service, you’d select UK from the list.
3. Then head over to BBC iPlayer on your browser or device and enjoy the free equestrian coverage on the Paris Olympics livestream.
We recommend VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:
- Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service)
- Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad
We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
How to watch eventing at the Paris Olympics in the US
Timetable in brief for US viewers
Saturday 27 July: dressage – 8.30am (3.30am CET)
Sunday 28 July: cross-country – 9.30am (4.30am CET)
Monday 29 July: second horse inspection (not available to watch online or on TV) 7.30am (12.30am CET)
showjumping team final – 10am (5am CET)
showjumping individual final – 2pm (9am CET)
NBCUniversal has broadcasting rights to the Paris 2024 Olympics in the US, with coverage likely to be spread across Peacock TV and its range of TV channels. These include NBC, USA Network and MSNBC.
How to watch Paris 2024 Olympics in the US without cable
Peacock costs $4.99 a month for an ad-supported version of the service that also offers live coverage of EPL soccer, every big WWE event, Premiership Rugby, plus plenty more live sports. You also have the option of paying $10 a month for commercial-free coverage.
OTT streaming service Sling TV is reasonably priced and includes NBC, USA Network and MSNBC as part of its Sling Blue package in most major markets. The usual cost is $45 a month, but if you’re new to the service you can get $10 off your first month.
Another over-the-top streaming service that includes NBC, USA Network and MSNBC is FuboTV. It’s a much more comprehensive cable replacement, and carries more than 100 channels including Fox, CBS and ESPN.
Prices start at $74.99 a month after a FREE FuboTV trial.
If you subscribe to Sling, Peacock, or any other US streaming service and find yourself unable to access coverage because you’re out of the country, consider using a VPN as outlined above – of the many options, we rate NordVPN as the best of the best.
How to watch eventing at the Paris Olympics in Canada
Timetable in brief for Canadian viewers
Saturday 27 July: dressage – 8.30am (3.30am EDT)
Sunday 28 July: cross-country – 9.30am (4.30am EDT)
Monday 29 July: second horse inspection (not available to watch online or on TV) 7.30am (12.30am EDT)
showjumping team final – 10am (5am EDT)
showjumping individual final – 2pm (9am EDT)
In Canada, Olympics coverage tends to be split between a range of different broadcasters, including CBC, Sportsnet and TSN.
CBC always offer plenty of events free to watch on CBC Gem. You can currently pay $4.99 per month for ad-free access to CBC Gem’s on-demand library, but if you don’t mind sitting through advert breaks, the service is free.
For Sportsnet, an SN Now subscription costs $14.99 per month, $49.99 for four months, or $149.99 per year.
A Sportsnet Now Premium subscription costs $34.99 per month or $249.99 per year.
You can subscribe to TSN on a streaming-only basis for $19.99 a month or $199.90 per year.
If you’re outside of Canada but still want to watch the action, don’t forget to explore NordVPN, as set out above.
How to watch eventing at the Paris Olympics in Australia
Timetable in brief for Australian viewers
Friday 26 July: first horse inspection (not available to watch online or on TV) 9.30am (5.30pm AEST)
Saturday 27 July: dressage – 8.30am (4.30pm AEST)
Sunday 28 July: cross-country – 9.30am (5.30pm AEST)
Monday 29 July: second horse inspection (not available to watch online or on TV) 7.30am (3.30pm AEST)
showjumping team final – 10am (6pm AEST)
showjumping individual final – 2pm (10pm AEST)
The entirety of the Paris 2024 Olympics is set to be shown for free across Channel 9 and 9Gem in Australia. That means viewers will also be able to use a Paris 2024 Olympics live stream on the 9Now streaming service, which is compatible with most smart devices.
Not going to be in Australia? Use a VPN to watch the Paris 2024 Olympics on 9Now from abroad.
It looks likely that Stan Sport will be providing ad-free coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympics. A subscription costs $10 per month (on top of a $10 Stan sub), after a seven-day Stan Sport free trial.
Schedule of eventing at the Paris Olympics
Here is an overview of the schedule of eventing at the 2024 Olympics.
You might also be interested in:
How to watch all the equestrian sports at the Paris Olympics live from around the world
The essential need-to-know facts about equestrian events at the Olympics
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