As with most Olympic Games, the United States made a clean sweep of the 1924 edition. Yet the real victors of the competition might well have been the French, whose event hosting was later gloriously immortalised in the 1981 Chariots of Fire. Exactly one hundred years later, the birthplace of the modern Olympics will once again welcome all nations to its capital. On paper, the occasion will be even grander: the International Olympic Committee (ICO) has almost doubled the number of sports competing compared to 1924. Among the 32 on offer, skateboarding and surfing are the newest additions. The opening ceremony, too, promises to surpass those of previous host countries, with athletes and performers crossing Paris on the Seine.
However, no signs of eager anticipation seem to be sweeping across the country. The truth, unfortunately, is that the Olympics cannot plaster over a dismal geopolitical situation and waning local enthusiasm for sport. If we cast our minds back in Olympic history, few would contest that the last truly exciting games were those held in London in 2012. Tokyo (2021) is a blurry memory, a sort of missed opportunity amidst pandemic havoc. Rio (2016) is more shamefully an example of the Olympics gone badly wrong, tarnishing its reputation with corruption scandals and poor management of costly infrastructures.
Unsurprisingly, the Americans won in London, but Great Britain, aside from its multiple sporting successes, outshone all other countries in a spectacular showcase of national pride. It is difficult to imagine how an opening ceremony on the notoriously polluted Seine could match the epic re-enactment of British history witnessed in London. Kenneth Branagh reading from Shakespeare, musical performances by Paul McCartney and Rowan Atkinson, the Queen parachuting into the stadium with James Bond – will France similarly rise to the occasion?
It seems unlikely, given current statistics on national morale. According to a poll published by Les Echos, only 20% of respondents described themselves as ‘excited’ for these games. Parisians are surrounded by Olympic rings posters in shops and the metro, but the reality of hosting is far less alluring than these adverts suggest. Daily conversations about the games tend to highlight the cumbersome logistical planning which they will impose on Parisians’ summer plans. Polling by Les Echos also reported that more than half of respondents feared severe transport and safety issues.
A generally sporty population with an appetite for such competitions might overlook these anxieties. However, gymnastics and swimming are hardly France’s forte. Paris, in particular, better suits the image of a touristy city, welcoming romantic weekenders and cultural amateurs. Los Angeles, which vied for the hosting job against Paris (and will welcome the 2028 summer games) would perhaps have been the more sensible option. California boasts a population of ambitious athletes, dotted around the state’s many universities. France lacks this athletic aura: Parisians traditionally opt for a ‘café-croissant’ rather than a pre-workout green smoothie.
Parisian lethargy towards this summer’s events might not be entirely misplaced. As war continues to fracture Europe and the Middle East, Pierre de Coubertin’s encouragement of universalism and fraternity seems incongruous. The Olympics now feel secondary, even undermined, by geopolitical pressures and contradictions: how, for example, can the European Union reconcile its firm stance against Putin with the presence of Russian athletes, albeit ‘neutral’ ones, at these games? The Olympics’ diplomatic importance in strengthening international cooperation has several times been challenged. Some might recall the boycotts during the 1980 summer games in Moscow. A separate committee even tried to protest against the Nazi-hosted 1936 Berlin games with its version in Barcelona. Such confrontations, menacing though they were to the integrity of the ICO, nonetheless cemented its political importance. Today, the Olympics are met with indifference, and this might just signal their decline.
A ‘business as usual’ attitude might not be all bad, however. As the ICO’s reiterated, ‘the Olympics Games are about the athletes’. This summer’s games might offer a window of respite from conflict and refocus international attention on the value of fair play – on the sports track at least.