I've always enjoyed the Olympics as a kid. I'd park myself on the couch with my family and we'd get excited during the opening ceremonies, ooh and ahh during the gymnastics and ice skating competitions, and just marvel at how these athletes' strength and endurance somehow defy physics. As an adult, I still have the same excitement for an Olympics year, especially when it's a nice break in the news during an election year (like no, I don't need to read about how Kamala is having a brat girl summer.) And no, the Olympics committee are not as ethical and as inclusive as they claim to be (i.e corruption, displacement of people, worsens class divides in the host country) - but life's complicated and all I can do is take in the good parts that come out of showcasing these events. For 2 weeks, it's fun, it's brief, and it feels good to at least have an event that unites the whole world as we're watching it together - monoculture ftw!
I'm not a regular sports watcher, but I do enjoy watching the finals of sports - you're watching the best of the best, the games are often gripping and close, and the athleticism and skill just puts you in awe of what's physically possible (yes, even if you're this breakdancer.. real talk, why did her country do her like that by sending her?) But also it's witnessing extraordinary people doing ordinary things, that most makes me admire them - moments like these gymnasts bowing down with huge smiles are acts of true sportsmanship. I saw a quote about how the Olympics aren't for seeing role models in athletes, but to see role models in people. Love!
Walking through the gates of the games, the atmosphere was really vibrant and you can tell that everyone was in a good mood and really excited to be there. It was really beautiful to see so many countries represented, seeing fans and citizens rocking flags and gear with so much pride. Someone described it as a big nirvana where the world is a happy place - almost as if the United Nations was a singular city?! Very cool to see. And because many of the sports don't just have one country against another (the rowing event we watched had 15 countries participating), it made the rivalry more… spread out I guess? The competitiveness just felt less binary and more relaxed. Adding to the lightheartedness of it all, sometimes people would randomly bust out into a song (no idea what, maybe their national anthem?) and soon other people would join in and it would just turn into a giant sing along lol!
In between games, there was a lot to do - lot of kid-friendly activities, open courts for you to play games like table tennis and basketball yourself, and pop-up exhibits. There were also the country zones where some of the countries had their own "house" - and it really was like stepping into that country for a bit. The India House was set up like a sangeet venue 😆 indian music blasting, different chaat stations, a mehendi station. I also appreciated that they tried to make the experience interactive and educational - there was a small batting cage for you to try cricket, and they had a small tutorial/workshop to show how intricate the artwork and skill is to make banarasi saris. They also have a full program at this house - either the India games are being screened on the big screen, but in between, there are things like yoga classes, Penn Masala a capella shows, and cultural dance performances. All for only 5 euros per day!! One catch though, you MUST be willing to hear them play Chak De India every time India scores a goal.
Didn't have time to make it to the other countries, but I heard good things like Colombia having great DJ sets, Korea had a lot of k-culture things like Kpop and K-fashion exhibits, and Czech Republic had some of the best beer and food. You don't even need to have tickets to the Olympics games to see these parts!
Every Olympics, I really like hearing all the stories of perseverance that come out. You feel such heartfelt admiration for the athletes and their dedication. Some of the inspiring stories I heard are like that of Arshad Nadeem, a Javelin thrower from Pakistan who received zero support from the government, so his village pooled together money to help him train and send him to the Olympics. He didn't even have the right equipment, he had to make homemade javelins out of eucalyptus branches, and did his weight training with iron rods and canisters of oil and concrete.
And what a win for USA gymnastics! Suni Lee, who was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease just last year and was told that her career was over, came back with such determination and won 3 medals. Simone Biles made the brave decision to drop out of the 2021 Olympics for her mental health - What a comeback to win 4 medals! I have even more admiration for her after watching this documentary about her and about the sport in general. I think gymnastics is beautiful to watch but the sport is very dangerous (like, you can die) and they just put themselves out there for... our entertainment? ughhhh.
Back to the point, if you have the desire and means to attend an Olympics event in the future, I super recommend going. Price-wise, I found it very accessible, you can find sports tickets starting from $30. And logistically, everything was conducted well: Paris has a great metro system of course, but even aside from that, I think the event organizers do an excellent job of keeping the whole thing running smoothly. I felt so taken care of, and as a girl in her 30s with lower stamina and tolerance for large-scale events, this is a must 🙃 They had plenty of food and water stations, information booths everywhere, no long lines for the bathroom, and SO many volunteers around who cheerily say hi and ask if you need help. On the security front, there were a ton of police and they had fantastic crowd control (someone said that the Taylor Swift concerts were way more challenging lol.) To top it off, the digital apps worked great to advise on transport methods, info about the stadiums, and reselling/exchanging tickets.
People are nervous whether LA can fill such big shoes after Paris, but I have hope that they can! After all, Los Angeles revived the Olympic movement in 1984 after the previous ones were under turmoil, and I think Paris did a great job of reinvigorating it after the pandemic. So, I have some optimism... plus, we have the best USA rep. 😉
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