Olympics 2024: Paris Games hold promise of ushering in ‘Belle Epoque’ in turbulent times

France and the whole world need another ‘Belle Epoque’ at a time when Paris, the City of Light and Love, is hosting the Olympic Games, a symbol of peace and unity, for a third time exactly after a century of staging the 1924 edition in the troubled backdrop of a simmering domestic front and international war fronts.

With a desire to put up a show that is bold, original, and unique, designed by theatre director Thomas Jolly, the organisers have dared to take the risk of holding Friday’s much-anticipated opening ceremony outside a stadium, on river Seine, with boats carrying the athletes over a six-km stretch – from Pont d’Austerlitz to Pont d’lena, with the final spectacle to be staged at Trocadero – covering all the eye-catching monuments of the historical city with an arrangement to accommodate 300,000 spectators in the no-mask post-pandemic Games.

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The spectators’ response to Paris 2024 has been lukewarm, though. Thousands of tickets were initially criticised for being highly priced, but they reportedly remained unsold just a few days before the opening.

With both banks of the Seine embellished in the colours of the Games and protected by heavy police deployment, the emphasis on security is clear. As various threats loom over the Games, the French Government has sought support from 45 countries.

The troubled backdrop of the Ukraine war and the Israel-Gaza conflict, which has activated pro-Palestine groups, and the current political scenario of France are additional headaches for the organisers.

Sadly, the Ukraine war has resulted in the minimal participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes among the projected figure of 10,500 from 203 nations.

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Paris, the city that has witnessed rebellions and fights for rights over centuries, has overcome a series of protests over various issues and hopes to tackle a threat to dirty the river by some citizens to host the Games without a hitch.

Paris, the land of Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the Modern Olympics, has made a beautiful marriage of the old and the new – converting centuries-old magnificent historic buildings to sporting venues for the mega event – and stands in a rare club.

After Athens hosted two editions of the Games in a span of 108 years, the French capital became the second city to host the Olympics after a century and the second after London to do the honours three times.

Paris falls in a unique series of repeat Olympic hosts, sandwiched between the Tokyo and Los Angeles Games.

Also, being inclusive and fair (as the most gender-equal Games and using the same emblem for both Olympics and Paralympics) and staging an environmentally friendly Olympics (boosted by the decision to mostly use existing venues and with several innovations, including building the Games Village without air-conditioners), Paris 2024 stands out in different ways.

As the Games’ mascot, the Phrygian cap, a traditional symbol of rebellion speaking of the free-spirited French, is another novel aspect.

Breaking, a dance form making its Olympic debut at the Paris Games, signals the winds of change and is an apparent attempt to woo the younger generation towards the 128-year-old sporting extravaganza.

India, buoyant after its best-ever show of seven medals in the Tokyo Olympics and excited at the prospect of bidding for the 2036 Games, has fielded 117 athletes with a never-before sports science backup.

With World and Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and two-time medallist shuttler P.V. Sindhu leading the country’s medal hope, India would love to record a double-digit on the medals tally and propel its dream of hosting the Olympics.

As the whole world eagerly awaits how the Games unfold in Paris, the current edition of the Olympics, which has taken an unimaginable leap, symbolised by a few grainy black-and-white pictures in 1924 to an advanced version of the digital world saving everything on Cloud now, would be the most well-documented one for posterity.

Only a time travel to the early 20th century could succinctly tell one of the massive leaps humanity and the Olympics have made over a century.

It’s time to welcome the ‘Games Wide Open!’