The Parade of Champions is the joyful daily communal event which encapsulates why Paris has been the People's Olympics, writes IAN HERBERT Those gathered could now say they have seen the great Rebeca Andrade Event attracts 13,000 in the late afternoon in what is known as Champions Park Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix took around 20 selfied with people from the crowd By Ian Herbert Published: 22:38, 10 August 2024 | Updated: 22:38, 10 August 2024 e-mail View comments They were queuing in their thousands around the Trocadero Gardens on Wednesday afternoon, waiting without complaint in the heat of the Avenue de New York and the Palais de Chaillot perimeter, for the chance to be a part of the daily communal event which encapsulates why these have been the People's Olympics . It's called the Parade of Champions, a free, largely unreported part of each Olympic day, which has been drawing capacity crowds of 13,000 in the late afternoon to what is known as Champions Park, set against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower. Most of those gathered on Wednesday in the ticketed seats or the 'pit' beside the walkway had not watched those champions compete, yet will now always be able to speak of how, in the Paris Olympic summer, they actually saw the great Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade, France's 3x3 basketball team, and two British divers — Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson — who were clearly having the time of their lives.
The young British pair appeared on a stage above the platform.