The commitment to the Seine River as a natural setting for the opening of the Olympic Games alone was a revolutionary proposal, which disrupted the philosophy of more than a century, where purists looked on with skepticism and, between corridors, commented on this madness of a new olympism. No one can ignore that the French are daring, irreverent, disruptive by essence, but at the same time, they are enveloping, magical and seductive in the staging of a great script.
The inauguration script privileged Paris, put everything and more to transmit its great cultural tradition, enhanced the natural attributes it has, intelligently sold abroad a France that provides security, that is capable of quickly overcoming extreme or extreme situations, among them the “sabotage” on the same day of the inauguration of the train lines that left almost a million passengers stranded.
The alarms went off immediately and there was great concern on the part of the International Olympic Committee, because the specter of terrorist acts appeared, to which President Macron had to come forward to call for calm and that everything was under control. of the French police and the countries that are directly collaborating in the security of the games. There is no doubt that all these emotional burdens, plus how polarized the country is, forced them to polish their Olympic Games, there was no other possibility, perhaps wait another hundred years, keeping in mind that the last edition was in 1924. Therefore, it was now or never.
AND THEN… ZINEDINE ZIDANE
Let’s go to the ceremony itself. It had a movie start, with Zinedine Zidane as the main actor in the first part of the cast, it went well, it did its thing without shining, then we entered a real television show, with world-renowned artists and no one can be unaware of their talents and popularity in the music market, but without being irreverent with the public being in situ, right there, in the Parisian rain. I was left once again with the feeling that it was a stage for television, but not so for those who came to the five-ring event.
The show turned into short recitals, with a pause to show the parade of the “Olympic athletes.” The athletes never managed to connect with the public, because that emotion that the parade of all the delegations transmits in the form of an alphabet gives you that identity where you wait for the country that represents you to arrive and you feel pride in that shirt and its wearers, the flag bearers.
One assumes that too long times on TV cause a drain on viewers, therefore, if you have to sacrifice someone, it will definitely be the athletes because they are not essential for the organizers, they are important for the competitions. Proof of this is that the Olympic athletes had to wait patiently on the barges for their parade for nearly three hours, a time that was too long, considering that the runtime for the official broadcast does not exceed 30 to 45 seconds. The journey lasted approximately 40 to 45 minutes for each barge at an average of 9 knots. I wonder: Does the IOC have anything to say about the Opening Ceremony? The answer is yes, they are informed, but the final decision always rests with the Local Organizing Committee, unless some content violates Olympic values.
I want to keep some milestones from the Inaugural Ceremony. The majesty of the Seine River, for example, where it was necessary to intervene for several months of work with a production that requires high-level logistics. One may not agree with the script or the interpretation of the script itself, but that staging is valued.
A separate chapter, as if it were from another movie, with other actors, with an audience that braved the rain and many stayed stoically enduring the inclement weather, was the lighting of the imposing cauldron, yes, that same Torch that left Athens and traveled through the main cities of France with the Relays, faithful guardians of their triumphs and failures, was the one that lit the flame of hope, of fair play, of believing in their potential, of going out to conquer the world no matter how small or big it may be. The cauldron is crossing the Parisian sky, it is the indelible flame that is lit in the hearts of the 10,500 Olympic athletes and the millions of people who follow and admire them around the world.
THANK YOU, RAFAEL NADAL
The Opening Ceremony left ups and downs and, curiously, once again the athletes save an opening ceremony. Today it was Zidane’s turn and a player from the house, from Roland Garros, for many the best on clay, with a giant heart and dazzling tennis, he comes for more, he wants to leave Paris with a medal, he wants to immortalize his name and go down in history as the best on and off the court. Thank you Rafael Nadal for joining the Paris Olympic Games and getting it back from the breaking point. And to think that these same athletes are the true protagonists of the games, without them there are no Olympics every four years. For this reason, I invite you to respect them, to value them, to recognize their talents and to be considered true ambassadors, not only when I need them, but when we all need each other. Only then will the world of sports be a true contribution to society in general.
At the close of this editorial, there is a very special tribute to the more than 500,000 spectators who came to the vicinity or to the edge of the Seine River, to those who arrived home in the early morning because they did not feel fatigue after spending long hours waiting and a ceremony that lasted almost four hours. There were people who arrived at 9 am to line up and enter after 3 pm, literally, they were away from home for more than 15 hours to accompany and celebrate the world’s Olympic athletes here in Paris.
