PARIS – The face of these Olympics was the City of Light, all bright and shining and historic, so full of screaming happy people and a city in need of a new enhanced nickname and a better reputation. The gold-medal winner for the 2024 Summer Olympics was the city itself, its people, its landmarks, its charm and those who came from all over the world to be part of this special event – the people who helped supply these spectacular venues with noise and unforgettable atmosphere some of that previously foreign to Olympic sport. And spectacular the venues were.
So many of them looking like postcards come to life. The beach volleyball stadium at night, all lit in the backdrop of the beaming Eiffel Tower. The breathtaking history of Roland Garros and the first glance at the red clay you’ve only heard about before.
The crescendo noise and then silence of a jam-packed Stade de Paris before the 100 metres – the signature event of any Olympics is run. The crazed cheering and chanting fans at Grand Palais when just about the least interesting sport in the world, taekwondo, was performed. So much noise for so little action.
It was like that almost everywhere the past two weeks. It didn’t matter the building. It didn’t matter the sport.
When done right, the Olympics can accomplish what no other sporting sequence can match. It can make you laugh and cry almost at the very same time, make you elated and nervous, make you care about sports and people you otherwise wouldn’t know.