Exactly What We Needed

The IOC was badly in need of a palate cleanser.  After seeing more and more cities decide that they didn't want to host the Olympics in recent years, followed by back-to-back COVID games in Tokyo and Beijing, they needed a reset.  The Paris Games provided them with an opportunity for just that.  And (aside from two highly disappointing ceremonies), that's exactly what Paris delivered.  The 2024 Olympics weren't just a home run.  They may go down in history as the Games where the Olympics got their groove back.

While this isn't the IOC's or the Tokyo Games' fault because they couldn't control it, the Tokyo Games didn't feel like an Olympics.  The athletes themselves said over and over again in Paris that this Olympic experience was completely different than the one three years ago.  In Tokyo, they were competing in empty stadiums, were basically limited to the Village and their own sport's venue, had to wear masks everywhere, and had to leave as soon as their competition was over.  They weren't even allowed to explore the city!

In Paris, none of those restrictions existed.  It was the world's chance to get back together and celebrate for the first time in eight years.  And that's what these Olympics were more than anything else.  A celebration.  A celebration of sport, yes.  But more a celebration of being together.  It's something that we maybe didn't even know was needed until we got it and remembered what we were missing.

I think that's especially true for the athletes themselves.  Throughout the Olympics, you saw so many athletes attending other sports and simply being fans themselves.  That's something they didn't get to do in Tokyo, and it's a big part of the Olympic experience.  Being there for those moments.  The fact that they got to do it in Paris?  Even better.

Paris was the perfect backdrop.  No other city is Paris, and they took full advantage of that.  When people look back on these Olympics, the brilliant decision to make use of iconic Parisian landmarks as Olympic venues will undoubtedly be right at the top of the list of highlights.  And the fact that most of the venues were centrally located, including many in the heart of the city itself, only enhanced the experience.  These Games were as much a part of Paris as Paris was of them.  It was unescapable.

Another thing that was inescapable was the sight and sound of packed stadiums!  Venues were packed, and venues were loud.  The hometown support the French athletes enjoyed was incredible!  But it wasn't just them.  People literally came from all over the world for these Olympics (the fact that Paris is a very desirable city to visit and a very easy place to get to certainly helped).  I don't know the exact number, but I think they said there were over a million tickets sold, and if there were any events that weren't sellouts, they were few and far between.

It was enough to give you chills.  The crowd nearly lifted Leon Marchand out of the water during every race, and you could hear the entire place singing "La Marseillaise" as he received each of his gold medals.  The President of France was taking selfies with Jimmy Fallon!  And the atmosphere at both of those USA-France gold medal basketball games?  You definitely knew who the home team was!  It's an experience the American athletes will be lucky enough to be on the other side of in 2028.  

Prior to the Olympics, there were questions about how much enthusiasm there was for the Olympics among the people in Paris.  My sister was in Paris a few months ago (where she got me a hat with the Olympic mascot on it for my birthday) and I asked her that very question, and she said that if you didn't already know the Olympics were coming to Paris, you wouldn't by just going to the city.  There were even the stories of Parisians leaving the city to avoid being there during the Olympics.  A lot of those people ended up coming back for the second week of the Games because they wanted to be a part of it, after all.

Towards the end of every Olympics, the IOC President sits down for an interview with NBC.  In that interview, Mike Tirico asked Thomas Bach how much the Olympic movement needed Paris after the COVID Games of Tokyo.  He said that they needed both.  Tokyo because an entire generation would've missed out on their opportunity, Paris because it was the reset they needed.  The world came together and the Olympics created a community again.  And, more importantly, Paris showed that the IOC's new model for hosting the Games doesn't just work, it can be a rousing success.

As a part of their Agenda 2020 reforms designed to make the Olympics more cost-feasible, one of the IOC's biggest recommendations was using existing and temporary venues whenever possible, only building when necessary and with a clear vision for a post-Olympics use.  Which is exactly what Paris did.  The only new venue built specifically for the Olympics was the Aquatics Center across the street from the Stade de France, which will become community pools for public use.  That's it.  Everything else was either already there or will be taken down once the Paralympics are over.  And those venues were spectacular!

Another thing President Bach mentioned in his NBC interview was that these Games were authentically French and authentically Parisian.  So, LA shouldn't try to copy them.  The 2028 Games should be authentically Angelino, authentically Californian and authentically American.  Especially since some of the things that made the Paris Games so great can't be replicated.  (There's only one Eiffel Tower and only one Louvre.)

These Olympics were the culmination of a long journey.  Paris has been trying to get the Olympics for nearly 40 years!  In 1986, Paris was the runner-up to Barcelona for the 1992 Games.  In 2005, Paris entered the final round of voting as the favorite to land the 2012 Games, but ended up losing to London (which hosted a spectacular Olympics that year).  That persistence finally paid off in 2017, and it was well worth the wait.  Because the 2024 Games were tres magnifique.

Did Paris need to host the Olympics?  No.  It would've still been Paris without them.  Paris wanted the Olympics, though.  Which I think is actually one of the biggest reasons for their being such a success.  They finally got their opportunity.  The Olympics were finally back in Paris a century after the last time.  They wanted to show the world what they've been missing.  And boy did they!

But did the Olympics need Paris, though?  That's a much different question.  Because I think the answer to that one is a resounding "Yes!"  These just might be the Games where the Olympics got their groove back.  And all the credit for that goes to the city of Paris, the organizing committee and the French fans.  The Paris Games weren't just spectacular.  They were exactly what the Olympics needed.