Forget the politics; relish the spectacle. That was, in essence, Emmanuel Macron’s hopeful message this week, as he called for a domestic “truce” while Paris stages its first summer Olympic Games for 100 years. Following the president’s ill-advised election gamble, which almost opened the gates of power to the far right, the host nation finds itself consigned to a form of rudderless political limbo. At present, there is no proper answer to the question: “Who governs France?” But following Friday’s opening ceremony, a fortnight of excellence on track and field will offer a welcome diversion to a divided nation.
At a time when the geopolitical outlook furnishes few reasons to be cheerful, the same goes for the billions expected to tune in around the world. As the dreams and ambitions of more than 10,000 athletes are pursued, the stage is set for perhaps the most visually sumptuous Olympics of modern times. Adopting an approach of “if you’ve got it, flaunt it”, and avoiding the cost of building expensive new infrastructure, organisers are taking the Games into the streets of one of the world’s most instantly recognisable cities.
Friday’s opening ceremony will be conducted not in a stadium but on the Seine, as a flotilla of athletes and artists travels from the Pont d’Austerlitz to the Eiffel Tower (where the beach volleyball tournament will also take place). The newly admitted Olympic sport of breaking (breakdancing) will grace the Place de la Concorde, while equestrian events will be held against the stunning backdrop of Versailles. Most eye-catching of all, the newly cleaned-up Seine is due to host the first swimming marathon to take place in an urban river since the modern Olympic era began in 1896.
Summer rainstorms could yet scupper that plan. But the recuperation for the people of one of the world’s most famous rivers should become an uplifting model for other cities. Overall, steps have been taken to ensure that Paris 2024 meets far higher environmental standards than its predecessors. It is anticipated that total carbon emissions will be roughly half those of London 2012 or Rio 2016.
Less laudable has been the move to bus hundreds of asylum seekers and other vulnerable people away from Paris, out of sight and out of mind. But the decision to construct the athletes’ village and the media hub in the deprived banlieue of Saint-Denis will, hopefully, lead to lasting regeneration. If Paris can stage a successful event, while keeping costs relatively manageable and leaving a positive urban legacy, it will do something to expunge the memory of Tokyo in 2021, when a Covid-shadowed Games was forced on a reluctant population.
From Friday onwards, of course, it will all be about the athletes themselves. Sporting greatness and courage has a special capacity to unite the world in simple admiration. In the Paris Games of 1924, Lucy Morton, a 26-year-old Blackpool swimmer, took gold for the 200m breaststroke, days after losing five teeth in a serious car crash. Ten thousand people filled the streets of her home town to welcome her back.
Next week, the remarkable Dina Asher-Smith will attempt to become Britain’s first individual sprint champion since Christine Ohuruogu in 2008. After a certain amount of grumbling at unwanted disruption, there are distinct signs that Parisians are getting in the mood. Let the Games begin.
• This article and caption were amended on 25 July 2024 to remove a reference to Linford Christie as Britain’s last individual sprint champion. Christine Ohuruogu won gold in the 400m sprint at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
