About 200 memorabilia from the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games have been auctioned, raising €228,000 for charity during an event that brought together fans, professional collectors and museums.
Items up for grabs on Sunday included five Olympic torches that were used for months throughout the long relay from Olympia in Greece to the French capital in the lead-up to the Games. The torches fetched between €12,000 and €20,000 each.
The auction also featured pieces from the historic opening ceremony of the Olympics. With 12 acts, torrential rain and enormous controversy surrounding the presence of drag queens, the parade created many memorable moments.
The red dress worn by the performer dressed as a beheaded Marie-Antoinette, who sang a revolutionary song out the window of the Conciergerie, was sold for €832.
Among the main buyers was a national sports museum from the southern French city of Nice. The institution spent €2,300 to buy the wreath and garlands of fake fruits and flowers worn by Philippe Katerine during the ceremony. The French singer had appeared from under a silvery cloche (also auctioned off), almost naked and covered in blue body paint, in a cosplay of Greek god Dionysus.
The Nice museum also purchased the costume of the mysterious masked torchbearer who ran along the Seine, from one iconic monument to the next, during the ceremony. The costume was aspired by popular elements of French culture, including the Phantom of the Opera, gentleman burglar Arsène Lupin, and the video game Assassin’s Creed.
The auction also showcased 20 iterations of the beloved Olympic mascot Phryge, from the little stuffed toys given to Olympic medallists to full-size costumes. One online bidder purchased two miniature Olympic and Paralympic Phryge for €3,200 and €1,408 respectively.
The proceeds from the auction will be donated to three charities promoting parasport and physical exercise for hospital patients.
