The surprise
On Saturday evening, outside a coffee shop on a small street running through the Vaugirard quarter in southern Paris, a waiter struggled with work and dropped a bottle of beer. It broke into millions of small pieces, beer foam flowing through the cracks on the concrete. The waiter exclaimed a loud "ugh" and, her eyes heavy and her awkward smile, said, "I didn't expect everyone to come here".
The poor man is trying to serve the growing crowd that is filling about 20 small round tables outside Ty Fanch creperie. A large TV is placed on the street to watch the men's basketball Gold Medal match between France and the US.
At Bercy Arena, about 7 miles away, the match was very tense and fans exploded with pride in the home team. In Vaugirard, cheers can be heard from outside the creperie, from every other beer and beverage shop on the street, and from the open windows of all the apartments above. When the match ended with a 98-87 victory for the US team, a wonderful thing happened that made even the most pessimistic people smile.
The sound of applause. From everywhere. All over the neighborhood. Applause for the French team. Clapping for themselves. It is a sudden change in what we hear about the 2024 Olympics, in talking about instability and indifference. Two days before the opening ceremony, a poll showed that only 25% of the French population were enthusiastic about the Olympics. The rest were indifferent (47%) or skeptical (25%). The same poll also showed that 74% do not believe the Olympics will improve the French' spirit. Domestic and international, there are concerns.
We need to...
But then the fire broke out and the Olympics started... Every location, every day, every event. Full, lively, bustling and proud. From the opening ceremony, the French poured the cups until they were overflowing, bringing an Olympics combining art with sports, history with the future, and the national flag flying in the warm welcome of the whole world.
For those who have watched, and especially those who have attended, this is the Olympics we need. The image of the previous Olympics was still very vivid when Paris 2024 started. The 2020 Olympics were held in 2021 for COVID-19 and, despite being broadcast worldwide, almost no one watched it live. As American rower Nick Mead said: "A part of the Olympic experience is meeting people from all over the world, who are doing what you are doing, whether in another sport or another country."
The Olympics brought them together and introduced them all to the world.
Everything in Paris is always seen through the sad lock left over from Tokyo (Japan). There is a feeling, a wish that the Olympics are more meaningful, it could be to return to what you remember as a child. With that same mood, everything was like a full hug.
More than recent memories, stars and athletes have come to see other stars and athletes. Stars who like to see stars, and one of Paris' biggest awards is the most marketable figures of the Olympics, which are mostly those that bring all the best.
Simone Biles did what needed to be done, winning 3 Gold Medals and 1 Silver Medal. But Button Ledecky did what he had to do, swimming in one direction while the rest tried to chase from the other. Sha'Carri Richardson took the lead from behind in the final race of the 4x100m relay event, turning around 90 degrees, not to look at who was taking the lead, but to admire the scenery. Teddy Riner, the French judo god and one of the most beloved athletes in the country, won his third Gold Medal in his career at the age of 35, making some fans cry. Novak Djokovic not only won his first Gold Medal in his fifth Olympic appearance but also climbed the time machine to compete with Rafael Nadal on the road.
The list is still long, but no name is more prominent than leon Marchand. The French swimmer started as a potential face and ended with a custom-designed black vest, with the honorable mission of putting the Olympic flame down. Marchand alone has won four of France's 16 gold medals.
... and search
And all the other stories. Things that cannot be planned, but instead become reality. Monet never intended to paint guns when he grew them.
American fitness trainer Stephen Nedoroscik has shown the meaning of being extremely good at a single sport, that spending his whole life perfecting a skill is the ultimate dedication. In the case of Nedoroscik, it was the thorough draft. Now he is a hero.
Brazilian Rebeca Andrade won an individual gold medal in the floor exercise and when she stepped onto the podium, she received a welcome from Biles and Jordan Chiles, a moment that will overcome the test of time.
Mondo Duplantis, a Swedish speed dancer, after the Gold Medal jump set a world record and ran fast to kiss his girlfriend. The birth of a new sport - breaking, has attracted thousands of people lining up around Jardin des Tuileries, next to the Musee de l' orangerie, where Monet's guns cover the walls.
That is right, that is something you cannot shake off. And the 2024 Olympics also have issues related to banned substances, a fake gender dispute, the noise surrounding the organization of competitions on the River River River, the assessments that have deprived Chiles of medals, and the existence of COVID-19 as a reminder that the pandemic has never completely disappeared...
But in the end, Paris 2024 brought success on the largest scale. The Olympics are a return to what people are looking for: Light.
