The Paris Games began in a downpour , the extraordinary city centre architecture glittering in the sun. There are no ifs, no buts, no equivocation: . The French capital has proved the finest of settings for all that running, jumping and – in the artistic swimming – identical twins simultaneously holding their breath.
There have been sporting moments to enjoy everywhere you looked, from to Steph Curry’s mesmerising ability to chuck a ball into a basket from the most improbable of distances. And the French have been able to savour so much, sent into collective ecstasy by an unprecedented haul of gold from their team. Common consensus has it that the three finest Games of the modern era have been Barcelona in 1992, Sydney in 2000 and London in 2012.
, there can be little argument it will soon come to be seen as having outflanked Barcelona and Sydney. But what about London? How does it compare to the best of the lot? The , the bucketing rain suggesting to the world Paris was a rival to Skegness as the wettest tourist destination around. But even as the silly Smurf wobbled and athletes on their barges huddled under waterproofs, its purpose was clear.
As the stunning illumination of Celine Dion halfway up the Eiffel Tower and the Olympic flame being launched into a balloon in front of the Louvre demonstrated, these Games were going to send an Instagram posting of the city’s glories round the world. And so it continued into the events themselves. Instead of building new faci.