A look at the first week of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Fall or salvation?

Introduction

The 2024 Summer Olympics kicked off last week with an expensive and controversial opening in Paris. Since this ceremony was held in Mahd Fashan, there were many expectations from this opening and many eyes were staring at it; Because after 100 years, the Olympics had finally returned to Paris, the city that hosted this great sports event in 1924, and it was the third time that these games were held in the French capital.

continuously from the beginning of the opening ceremony to the end of the first week; Many sidelines, social debates, cultural issues, and human rights issues have been raised, which has caused numerous criticisms to be brought to France; Of course, on the other hand, some people defend France and are very satisfied with the opening process and the games.

In the following, we will examine all aspects of this great event, so that you can conclude with your own judgments whether Paris was saved or completely fell by holding this period of the Olympic Games!

Bold presence of fashion in the Olympic event and holding the flag LVMH

Since the Olympics are held in the cradle of fashion in the world, namely Paris, it was not far from the expectation that fashion would have a prominent presence in this event; so that even in the opening ceremony we can witness a fashion show; But it can be said that 2024 is the first year that luxury brands have shown such a wide interest in the Olympics. Prestigious brands that used to only support the sports of rich people, such as tennis, polo or Formula One, this time showed special interest and attention to the Olympic Games and more general sports.

According to reports from the Boston Consulting Group, there was no better place to start the global marketing of the LVMH family than the Olympics. Bernard Arnault, France’s richest man, the world’s third-richest man and chief executive of luxury group LVMH ( LVMH.PA ), was named the top sponsor of the Paris Olympics, paying 150 million euros ($163 million); So that during the opening ceremony and during the games in the first week, the products of this company were seen everywhere, which we will mention below:

fundTheProtecting the Olympic torch and medalsTheI see

The opening torches for the 2024 Paris Olympics, designed by French designer Mathieu Lehanneur, were kept in special, custom-made cases by Louis Vuitton, part of the LVMH superstore.

Also, the medal chests are inspired by Louis Vuitton’s Malle Coiffeuse in the 1850s, covered with the LV monogram, and its drawers hold 468 Olympic and Paralympic medals.

Pharrell Williams, the creative director of the Louis Vuitton brand, was also the first bearer of the Paris 2024 Olympic torch.

medalTheOlympics

If you look closely, there is a hexagonal piece of wrought iron in the center of the medals of the Olympic Games for the top athletes. This piece is a part of the main frame of the Eiffel Tower, which was kept and protected after the restoration. Designed by Chaumet, luxury jewelry giant LVMH, these medals are worth much more than a simple medal because they are infused with a part of France’s rich heritage, the Eiffel Tower.

hotelTheand large shopping centers

According to the reported negotiations, La Samaritaine department store, Cheval Blanc Hotel and Sephora cosmetics store, all members of LVMH, are responsible for serving athletes and spectators during the Olympic event.

The dress of the French convoy in the paradeThethe Olympics

LVMH’s Berluti brand has used the expertise and experience of its artisans to ensure that French athletes at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics look their best and wear clothes that express French authenticity and freshness. Berluti used the codes that make up the identity of this brand; Like clean and high-quality stitches.

This maison produced 1,500 pieces of clothing in different sizes for the athletes of the French team, each piece including suits, shirts, belts, shawls or handkerchiefs, and shoes; These clothes were designed in France and produced in Italy using exclusive European fabrics.

trayTheDonation of medals and uniforms of Olympic officials

Ahead of the start of the Olympics, LVMH and the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee unveiled the uniforms designed for the volunteers who carry the winners’ medals, as well as the medal trays at each championship ceremony.

Inspired by the uniforms of the 1924 Games in Paris, the clothes were designed with a completely modern perspective, emphasizing sport and genderless fashion. 515 young medal bearers were chosen who are members of national sports federations across France and wear clothes that represent France’s history and its cultural and social heritage.

The design of the medal tray designed for the championship ceremony, also evoking the heritage of Louis Vuitton, was created by the skilled artists of this fashion house in the workshop of Beaulieu-sur-Layon in the Maine-et-Loire region, which is famous for the production of leather goods.

In an interview, Arnault stated the reason for LVMH’s support of the Olympic Games as follows: “Since we are a prestigious French company, we cannot avoid helping our country. We wanted to show the world through the Olympics that France is a creative, different and industrial country. At the opening ceremony, you saw beautiful dresses designed by Dior and other French fashion houses. I think it was a wonderful way to show how special France is.”

Opening conditionsThe gameThe2024 Paris Olympics

The 2024 Paris Olympics completely attracted the attention of the media and analysts due to the changes and innovations that happened in it; Because this Olympic period was inspired by the fashion industry and the cultural and social attitudes of the French people.

France had tried to remove the opening ceremony of the Olympics from the usual place of these games, which were always the biggest stadiums of the host country, and move it to the open space centered on the Seine River; While this decision was a bold move, unprecedented and worrying in terms of security.

Almost nothing about the opening program was revealed in advance and everyone was eager to see the event, which was added to the curiosities by the heavy and unexpected rain. The presence of 300,000 spectators, snipers on alert to provide security for the ceremony, a 3.7-mile course west down the Seine from the Pont d’Austerlitz to the Eiffel Tower, an opening parade with about 90 boats and 6,800 athletes and in At last, 12 stages with different topics and performances were parts of this controversial and noisy event.

The French were mostly determined that their Olympic opening ceremony would bring happiness and satisfaction to all the people of the world; But the result was something else!

clothesThe Performers at the opening ceremonyThe 2024 Olympics

We have already talked about the clothes of the Olympic athletes of different countries on the opening day, in the article “The best clothes of the 2024 France Olympics”; But now we want to take a look at the costumes of the opening ceremony performers:

Lady Gaga, Grammy Award winner and the opening act for the 2024 Summer Olympics, gave an energetic rendition of Zizi Jeanmaire’s Mon Truc En Plumes, wearing a black Dior Haute Couture plumed jacket over the top. The body was covered in black satin. Of course, this dress was an unauthorized recreation of Zizi’s original dress designed by Saint Laurent. This issue caused many controversies in this matter.

Aya, the French singer with the most listeners in France, gave a powerful performance accompanied by a live band from the French Guard. He showed his resilience amid recent controversies by performing a medley of his hit songs ‘Pookie’ and ‘Djadja’. Her stunning gown with gold feathers was by Dior; Her dancers also wore Dior dresses.

Celine Dion’s dress, the musical legend who returned to the stage after months away due to illness, was designed by Dior for the first time. More than 1000 hours were worked on Celine Dion’s dress and 500 meters of fringe were used in this brilliant dress.

Each of the symbols What do they mean in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics?

In this four-hour show, which was held in different parts of the city of Paris, centered on the Seine River, many performances were shown and many symbols were used in these performances. The director of this ceremony, Thomas Jolly, a prominent French theater director, was chosen two years ago to design and direct the opening ceremony of the Olympics. The winner of three Moliere awards – France’s highest theater award – he is also an activist for gay rights and tried to show this aspect at the opening ceremony. Now let’s examine a summary of the symbols used in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics:

• Reenactment of the Last Supper, art or blasphemy?

One of the scenes that brought protest from many Christians was the director’s reconstruction of Da Vinci’s Last Supper painting. The presence of a naked man in blue on a food tray and the use of a overweight gay woman instead of Jesus Christ caused Christians to take this scene as an insult to their holiness.

This blue-colored man was Philippe Katerine, a French singer and actor, who in this scene was the symbol of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and celebration; The god who watched the Olympic games from the top of Mount Olympus and provided feast, joy and food for other gods.

Of course, Thomas Joly’s reason for making this character blue was to Frenchize the god of the Greeks. So, by using the blue color of the skin of the characters of the famous French cartoon, SmurfThe(The Smurfs), at the same time, it evoked the character of “Daddy Smurf” to the viewers.

Barbara Butch, who played the role of Christ in this scene, is a DJ and activist of gay issues in France, who, along with her companions Hugo Bardin and Nicky Doll, who are famous French drag queens, recalled the painting of the Last Supper by Da Vinci.

The day after the opening and following criticism, the videos of this part of the ceremony were removed from the official Instagram page of the Olympic Committee and the Paris 2024 Olympics.

• Magenta dancers

In part of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics, dancers appeared who were all dressed in purple. This color represents the most famous night club in France, the Moulin rouge, which was opened in 1889 by Joseph Oler and is known as the “Red Mill”.

The dance of these dancers was a special French dance of the 19th century, which was drawn from the painting of the famous and old French artist, Henri de Toulouse.–Lautrec Inspired and performed with the music of Jacques-Jacob Offenbach; So that it displayed the Parisian spirit in the most important celebration of recent years in France.

• Holding a fashion show in a sports event

During the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a magnificent and exciting fashion show was also held. This action was completely logical; Because France is known as one of the main centers of fashion in the world. In this show, famous French brands were present and models walked, sang and danced on the runway.

• Love triangle

Another controversial opening scene of the Paris 2024 Olympics was the trio d’amour, or love triangle, which referred to the old French film Jules & Jim by Francois Truffaut in 1962.

In this story, Don José is in love with Carmen, but Carmen prefers Trador Escamillo. The love triangle is a theme that always fascinates French writers, and the novel and movie Jules & Jim is known as a reference in this field.

• A drag queen with a blonde beard

The singer-dancer drag queen Piche, who performed a scene from Gala’s Freed From Desire, is a symbol of the drag queens who once danced in French courts to entertain kings.

• Olympic Knight

This armored woman riding a metal horse on the Seine with the Olympic flag was Florian Issert, a ranking officer of the French Gendarmerie. He was a symbol of Sequana, the goddess of the river Seine, who is associated with Jean-Darque, the French hero of the Franco-British wars.

Upon reaching the shore, the metal horse was transformed into a real white horse and the wings of a dove were placed on top of his head, all these symbols being “messengers of peace”. The knight’s armor was designed by Jeanne Friot and reportedly took more than six months to design.

• The mysterious bearer of the Olympic torch

One of the notable points of the 2024 Olympics was the presence of a masked person throughout the opening ceremony, going from stage to stage and carrying the torch. This character was a combination of the first and famous character of a famous French novel called “The Phantom of the Opera” (Le Fantôme de l’Opéra) and the popular character of the game series “Assassin’s Creed”. The costume of this unknown person was inspired by the Unity series of Assassins Creed games; Because the story of this episode takes place in France.

• The beheaded queen

During part of the ceremony, a beheaded woman was revealed to be Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France. He was a symbol of aristocracy who was executed and beheaded during the French Revolution. Some people are of the opinion that this trend is not a source of pride for France, and it should not have been mentioned that he was beheaded by the French people in an important event like the Olympics.

• A reference to the seventh art, cinema

This huge show also paid tribute to the cinema; Because France was the starting point of this art. Parts of the ceremony referred to the first film in the history of cinema by the Lumière brothers, then it reached “A Trip to the Moon” by “Georges Mahliss” and went to “Minions” created by the French “Pierre Coffin”.

• Drowning painting portraits

During the parade of boats, we saw portraits of the world’s most important paintings, which are kept in the Louvre Museum, along the Seine River. It is interesting to know that one of these paintings was a part of the painting “Shah Abbas and Javan” by “Mohammed Qasim Tabrizi” from Iran.

Conditions of athletes in the villageThethe Olympics

Due to the special focus of the Olympic Committee on environmental sustainability, the organizers of the Olympics in Paris tried to act in favor of the environment: the single beds of the athletes were made entirely of recycled cardboard (these beds were used for the first time at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics). Food is sourced locally and organically, and rooms use simpler cooling systems instead of air conditioning systems.

While some athletes cherish this respect for the environment, others found the conditions far from the ideal life of a professional athlete and decided to leave the Olympic Village. The British convoy was among the convoys that boycotted the Olympic food from the first day due to lack of satisfaction.

Athletes who came to the attention of the public at the Paris 2024 Olympics:

• Dive hero knitting

British swimmer Tom Daley is one of the athletes who gained attention from the 2020 Olympics by knitting pieces of yarn to reduce stress. He, who won the silver medal in diving this year, continues to do so.

• The charisma of the shooter of a Korean woman and a Turkish man

South Korean shooter Kim Yeji won the silver medal in the women’s 10m air pistol competition and broke the record. He was seen because of his charismatic poses, cold face and even his stylish and beautiful uniform.

In contrast, Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikeç competed without any professional shooting equipment and won the Olympic silver medal. The high age of this athlete (51 years old), his lack of use of shooting equipment, and his resemblance to game characters drew a lot of attention to this shooter. In 2011, he also won a gold medal in the World Shooting Championships.

• The attractiveness of the Italian swimmer

Thomas Ceccon, the Italian swimmer, has attracted many fans at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Ceccone helped the Italian team win the bronze medal in the men’s 4x100m freestyle and a few days later won the gold medal in the men’s 100m.

• The presence of Algerian transgender in women’s boxing

Maybe one of the loudest events after the opening is the Olympic women’s boxing event. During the first week of the Olympic Games, an Algerian transgender boxer named Imane Khelif participated in the women’s boxing competition, and his opponent withdrew from the competition after 4 seconds due to very strong blows to his face.

Many called this act unfair; Because this transgender was banned from participating in world boxing matches, but this ban was not followed in France.

Jewelry, the trend of 2024 Olympic athletes

In the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, accessories played a significant role in the appearance of athletes, and many athletes used a variety of ornaments and jewelry. In addition to the beauty aspect, these accessories also had a symbolic role for some athletes and motivated them.

last word

In general, some people criticize this year’s Olympic Games due to the existence of left-wing ideologies, Vocism and lack of respect for human rights, but on the other hand, some people consider these issues to be a part of freedom and praise France for its artistic spirit and freedom of action. they do The director of the opening ceremony, Thomas Joly, said in an interview: “I showed with the opening ceremony that we have high freedom and civil rights in France.”

But the question that arises is, at what price to have freedom? Do you think freedom at the cost of injustice and insult is an admirable freedom or is it similar to unrestrained?