Were Paris games the best ones in a long time ? Your top five ?

[4everchan]

I have been a crazy Olympic games fan for over 30 years... (started watching in 1988, Calgary).

I have been more or less bored with Olympics lately.. Of course, Covid restrictions didn't help Beijing and Tokyo.

I was lukewarm about Paris hosting the games at first. French people didn't seem to want them... a lot of issues left unresolved.

But then, I fell in love with the games again. The unique opening ceremonies, not in a stadium. The Celine Dion performance.
The sites of sporting events, showcasing the iconic beautiful monuments of Paris. (How can you not fall in love with beach volleyball when the background is the illuminated Eiffel tower?)

I feel like I have witnessed French refinement and creativity at its best with the ceremonies. The medals were gorgeous (does anyone remember the CDs of Torino LOL).

The games had a few scandals, most notably the FIG mess up for the women floor exercise.. the dronegate... (ashamed of being Canadian, then so proud of being Canadian when the women did the unthinkable of winning their 3 pool games to get to the quarters) but nothing compared to last few games with doping, wars, more doping... etc

I feel this has been the best games in a long time. They were for France, with a record in the most medals won... same for Canada btw.

There are so many events I loved watching, some were big discoveries for me like breaking (gosh I love Phil Wizard !!!!)

The pressure is on for Milano.

Also, the available streaming coverage for every single event was amazing. (at least in Canada). It allowed me to watch entire events, from beginning to end and get attached to some athletes I would probably not have discovered without the streams.


To end this post

Here is my top 5

1) The opening ceremonies with the athletes parade on the water...
2) Léon Marchand and Summer McIntosh, king and queen of the pool ( I am biased here as I was a swimmer)
3) The iconic competition sites. This was so risky, yet such a wonderful idea. It reminded me of my time as a tourist in Paris. I could taste the baguette jambon-beurre while watching the events. Too bad about the Seine still being polluted but if they keep working on this, maybe, one day, Paris will be cleaner.
4) Tom Cruise's exciting stunt at the closing ceremonies Celine Dion's emotional performance at the opening ceremonies
5) Canada's double hammer throw Olympic champions Ethan Katzberg and Camryn Rodgers.

What's your top 5 ?

 

[rabidline]

I really enjoyed it too. I was worried about very little noise in social media before it started, but once it's in full swing I can see everyone really missed being able to party and our last Summer Olympics was in 2016. That's 8 years!!!! Most people being able to sort of follow every event live helps, I think everyone just wanted to be on top of everything and it adds to the excitement.

My Top 5:

1. Novak Djokovic finally winning OGM in his 5th Olympics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is my very problematic favorite athlete (even saying he's very problematic is an understatement lol) but oh my GOD, I have rooted for him since 2013 and the last 2 Olympics have been absolute meltdowns from him, so to do it on Philippe Chatrier court, against Alcaraz, under the beautiful sun, with his kids in attendance... amazing. He joins a very special group of people who have "completed tennis" which is cool too. Overall I'm happy with how the tennis event shook out, a bit forgettable because there was not a lot of drama, but pretty great distribution of medals.

2. My country scoring 2 golds during the last days of Olympics. Not going to say which country but one of the winners won gold by a margin of 0.02 seconds, that was pretty cool. No thanks for the government lol.

3. Imane Khelif's entire Olympic journey. That she's now suing everyone who's been so hateful is just the cherry on top. The magic of sports, sometimes everything just aligns for someone who's vilified to the extent that she was, to be able to win and thrive and push back against those who hated on her so irresponsibly.

4. That the real summer Olympics is back, and we get to really enjoy it from start to finish. That the athletes who have worked so hard got the support and cheers from the audience they deserve. There was a viral tweet about someone who met another audience member who brought with him flags of smaller countries to the track & field venue- that's such a lovely reminder of just how the sports in the summer Olympics are more accessible to more nations.

5. Surprise Jakub Josef Orlinski in the opening, lol. Love him, love his voice, and it's like a fun reminder to FS in the middle of so many other FS reminders (RG using many of the FS music, and not just the traditional warhorses, lol)

 

[DemTuppesSeine]

I enjoyed it a lot. This was the first time I really was interested in the Olympics and even made a "what do I need to watch" schedule Availability has been great here as well. Our two national broadcasters did live coverage and we had all the events online (still have, probably, but not sure about that). In addition, the discovery+ app had all the events as well, which I sometimes preferred, because during live coverage of track and field events, there was a lot of switching between the disciplines, while discovery made it possible to really just follow one event, like pole jumping.

My top 5:

1) The opening. It was a great idea to have it play out all across the city; that really made it stand out. And of course Céline Dion. Brought me to tears.

2) The very emotional German commentary on the equestrian events. We have a commentator who is a legend among those who watch riding events, or at least that's what I've been told...but I get why many people think that He loves the sport and it shows.

EDIT: His name is Carsten Sostmeier. I hope this isn't geoblocked, because it's worth hearing That's not from the Olympics, but from CHIO, a big equestrian tournament in Germany.



3) Imane Khelif. I didn't watch boxing, but I read about what was going on with her and all that online hate, and I love how she did her thing and won AND that she's suing now

4) Mondo Duplantis breaking the OR and then breaking the OR AGAIN and the WR It was great that he was able to jump 6.25 in a stadium with over 70.000 people watching him.

5) Darja Varfolomeev's gold medal. There must have been so much pressure on her because everyone here expected her to do well, and she did it. Also loved that consoling her teammate was more important to her than celebrating her victory.

 

[Azikin]

It was great to see so such a big support from the audience, especially after the covid restricted Olympics.
It was almost unbelievable that athletic stadium was full all the time, even for the morning program.

It's difficult for me to name my top 5 but my absolute top was something not many people probably even noticing.
Our Czech fencing team beating France for the bronze medal. It was an absolutely unbelievable finish of our underdog team when before the last match the whole audience was celebrating France medal already but our guy won 12-6. Just unbelievable comeback against one of the best fencer in the world.

 

[el henry]

Yes, the Paris games were entrancing.

My top five:

1. Léon Marchand and the hometown crowd, both were stars

2. Pommel Horse Guy and I don't even follow or watch gymnastics.

3. US men exceeding all expectations in middle distances: Cole Hocker winning (!!!) the 1,500 and Grant Fisher medaling in both the 5,000 and the 10,000.

4. All of the venue sites, just beautiful. The marathon course, so challenging and so iconic.

5. An equal number of men and women competing, overall, for the first time.


I was not a big a fan of the opening or closing ceremonies. I am not one of "those" people, just I love the traditional walk into a stadium. The Seine in the rain did not do it for me. Just me But overall, a great experience.

 

[LadyB]

I fell in love with Olympics in 1976, both Winter and Summer, and I've watched most of the festivals since with huge interest. Paris was defo among the best.

Top 5 in no particular order:

1. Tom Daley at his fifth Olympics winning another medal (silver) in 10m synchro diving
2. Mondo Duplantis winning outright and securing another WR at the first attempt. What a guy!
3. Jacob Ingebrigtsen winning a gold medal after all - albeit in 5,000m
4. Team GB Men swimmers 4 x 200 m Freestyle relay gold. I love these guys!
5. Femke Bol - this girl is insane!!! Especially in the Mixed 4 x 400m relay. What a finish!

... and there is so much more. Leon Marchand should be mentioned in any case. That was a great watch.

 

[Andrina]

I loved the whole event. It was the first Olympics that I watched almost entirely live because of the time zone. And well, French is my mother tongue, so I was already biased from the beginning.

My top 5:

1. Janja Garnbret winning her second Olympic gold in climbing with her middle finger injured right before the final event.

2. Switzerland securing exactly the same medals in shooting and beach-volley as in Tokyo 2021 but with completely different athletes.

3. Sifan Hassan medalling in 5000m, 10000m, and marathon !!

4. Just the fact that there were many new young athletes who got medals.

5. Céline Dion. No more words needed here.

 

[DLong]

No, they were not one of the best. I thought they were terrible. Let's start with the disgusting opening ceremonies. That was just horrendous, and so disrespectful. Then there was the Canadian Soccer scandal, and the Artistic gymnastic floor mess which will probably not be resolved for a very long time.

I was happy for the USA Men's gymnastic team. Also, for Stephen Nedoroscik's individual bronze medal on the Pommel Horse. I wasn't expecting the men to win a medal, so it was even more exciting then the Women's gold medal team win. Also, I was happy Jade Carey won the bronze medal for the vault after her miss in the Vault in Tokyo, and Suni Lee's individual bronze medals were so special after dealing with a kidney disease. Simone winning three gold medals and one silver was so amazing especially after the twisties problem in Toyko.

 

[Arigato]

1. Stephen Nedoroscik - Pommel Horse Guy
2. Stephen Nedoroscik - Pommel Horse Guy
3. Stephen Nedoroscik - Pommel Horse Guy
4. Stephen Nedoroscik - Pommel Horse Guy
5. Stephen Nedoroscik - Pommel Horse Guy

 

[moonvine]

No, they were not one of the best. I thought they were terrible. Let's start with the disgusting opening ceremonies. That was just horrendous, and so disrespectful. Then there was the Canadian Soccer scandal, and the Artistic gymnastic floor mess which will probably not be resolved for a very long time.

I was happy for the USA Men's gymnastic team. Also, for Stephen Nedoroscik's individual bronze medal on the Pommel Horse. I wasn't expecting the men to win a medal, so it was even more exciting then the Women's gold medal team win. Also, I was happy Jade Carey won the bronze medal for the vault after her miss in the Vault in Tokyo, and Suni Lee's individual bronze medals were so special after dealing with a kidney disease. Simone winning three gold medals and one silver was so amazing especially after the twisties problem in Toyko.

Exactly who were the opening ceremonies disrespectful to? They showcased French culture. I thought they were beautiful

 

[TontoK]

I finally got Peacock, and glad I did. I enjoyed getting to cruise around and watch events I was interested in, rather than being held captive by NBC and having to watch what they wanted me to watch.

My Top 5:

Marchand. Amazing... I'm a bit biased because I was a competitive swimmer in my youth, so a bonus swim moment was Bobby Fink erasing the existing World Record in the 1500. That record NEEDED to be erased.

Sidney M-L in the intermediate hurdles and her relay split. Astounding.

The venues. Iconic.

The Irish pommel horse dude. Even a casual fan like me could see he was clearly the best.

Cole Hocker in the 1500. Wildest race on the track, IMO, although the steeplechase had a great finish, too.

Not a fan of the ceremonies, either one of them.

 

[4everchan]

1. Stephen Nedoroscik - Pommel Horse Guy
2. Stephen Nedoroscik - Pommel Horse Guy
3. Stephen Nedoroscik - Pommel Horse Guy
4. Stephen Nedoroscik - Pommel Horse Guy
5. Stephen Nedoroscik - Pommel Horse Guy

You can now watch him on dancing with the stars.

 

[Lamente Ariane]

I don't normally watch much of the Summer Olympics but this year the timing ended up being perfect to distract me from RL crap... so I watched a lot of events for the very first time and got more into a few that I hadn't seen in years. I think my top five in no particular order would probably have to be

1) The venue for fencing was so gorgeous and dramatic! I especially enjoyed the women's epee final and women's foil overall, men's sabre also had some great moments.
2) Breaking, especially the men but both men and women was really fun and engaging. I hope it makes a comeback in a future Olympics (yes I know it's off the table for LA 2028)
3) Artistic swimming with special mention for Team Japan's Alligator acrobatic routine and Team Mexico's acrobatic Goddess of Waterways and Navigation routine (Shoma Uno fans may recognize one of Mexico's pieces of music )
4) I didn't get to see the team event in men's gymnastics, but pommel horse, rings and floor were very enjoyable and it seemed like there were some surprise medalists which is always fun.
5) Team Ukraine's Carmen routine in rhythmic gymnastics. Enough said

Honorable mentions: skateboarding, sport climbing, women's gymnastics (I couldn't fairly put it in my top because balance beam finals were so stressful/heartbreaking, the uneven bars finals had some truly horrific falls and all the scoring drama, but I was glad to see Simone Biles thriving and Team Brazil wins best leotards IMO)

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

If you like it when the organisers lose the plot, then yes, the Paris Games were the best.

Like, what is the sense in having an Opening Ceremony spread across a city?! It means that the spectators on the ground were only able to see a small fraction of what is happening. If it had been held in an arena like it usually is, the spectators would be in the seats surrounding the show and would see the whole thing.

Although the audience watching on the TV would have got more of a feeling of what was happening as a whole, they wouldn't have seen everything either. If it had been held in an arena like it usually is, and if the best camera shots were used, the TV viewers would have seen the whole thing.

For the producers of any live show that is also being broadcast on TV, one of the trickiest things is getting the balance right so that the spectators on site and the viewers on TV get the full feel of the show. When neither of them are getting that, it is not a good thing.

And that is before we even get to the fact that some of the things that were in the show were highly offensive to a lot of people around the world. I admit that I didn't watch the Opening Ceremony, so I can't comment about it myself. But I saw the reaction over here, and it did cause a lot of outrage.

At the end of the day, this is a sporting event. It is the efforts of the athletes that are supposed to be talked about, not the introduction.

As for the Closing Ceremony, I have heard absolutely nothing about it. So, I plain don't know if anything I just wrote would apply to it. Or if there were any other problems that arose during it.

I am a motorsports and winter sports person. I don't have any interest in summer sports. So, I didn't watch anything. But, I will say one thing. Fairness and safety should always be the most important things at sporting events. But it would appear that other things took priority at this year's Summer Olympics.

Hopefully, the organisers for the next Olympics in Italy will do better than the organisers of these ones in France.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

After my previous post, let's have something more positive!

It would be difficult for me to make up Top 5 list, because I only watched at most 15 minutes of the 2024 Summer Olympics:

• About 2 minutes of the Opening Ceremony on demand, because I had seen a story on a Cypriot newspaper's website complaining about what one of the BBC commentators had said about their flagbearers, and I wanted to find out the context. As it turned out, the "quote" they had used in the story was completely different to what he had actually said. The newspaper was trying to stir. I complained, sending them a full transcript of what was said, even including camera shot changes with timestamps for the archived coverage on the BBC iPlayer. But, although I got a reply, they didn't edit the story.
  
  
• Rhys McClenaghan's winning routine on the Pommel Horse. And that was by pure good fortune. I had just finished watching that day's motorbike racing, and flicked over to Eurosport to find out where we were at in the competition, and he was just getting introduced! And boys but I was glad that I did see it live!

But, it was certainly the best Olympic Games for athletes from Northern Ireland, because they came back with our biggest ever medal haul!!!

Theoretical Position​	Country​	Gold​	Silver​	Bronze​	Total​
26=​	Northern Ireland​	4​	1​	3​	8​

And that is exactly the same as what Norway got! (Switzerland, Greece and Turkey also won 8 medals, but they didn't get as many Gold Medals. Most of their medals were Bronze).

So, congratulations to our Magnificent Seven:

Daniel Wiffen (IRL) - Swimming:
Men's 800m Freestyle
Men's 1,500m Freestyle

Jack McMillan (GBR) - Swimming
Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay

Hannah Scott (GBR) - Rowing
Women's Quadruple Sculls

Rhys McClenaghan (IRL) - Gymnastics
Men's Pommel Horse

Rebecca Shorten (GBR) - Rowing
Women's Four

Philip Doyle (IRL) - Rowing
Men's Double Sculls

Becky Moody (GBR) - Equestrian
Team Dressage



I admit, I am probably pushing the boat out a bit with Becky Moody. Apart from being born here, I can't find any connections between her and Northern Ireland. She lived in Scotland until she was 6 years old, and has been living in Yorkshire, England, ever since. None of the local media are including Becky in our medal count. But, it could merely be that they missed her, because she was a last minute call up in place of the disgraced Charlotte Dujardin.

Either way, I am including her. Not least because "The Magnificient Seven" sounds good!

WELL DONE EVERYBODY!!!

Traditionally, athletes from Northern Ireland tend do better in the Paralympics than the Olympics. In recent editions, three of our Paralympians alone (swimmer Bethany Firth, and runners Michael McKillop and Jason Smyth) have between them won 16 Gold Medals and 3 Silver Medals! However, none of them are competing this time around.

But, hopefully those athletes that are going will be able to add to our already impressive Medal tally from Paris 2024.

ALL THE BEST EVERYBODY!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[4everchan]

If you like it when the organisers lose the plot, then yes, the Paris Games were the best.

Like, what is the sense in having an Opening Ceremony spread across a city?! It means that the spectators on the ground were only able to see a small fraction of what is happening. If it had been held in an arena like it usually is, the spectators would be in the seats surrounding the show and would see the whole thing.

The OC were conceived with TV viewers in mind. Spectators watching in Paris certainly viewed the whole thing later if they felt like doing so.

Although the audience watching on the TV would have got more of a feeling of what was happening as a whole, they wouldn't have seen everything either. If it had been held in an arena like it usually is, and if the best camera shots were used, the TV viewers would have seen the whole thing.

I didn't feel like this was a problem, plus it's not true that we see everything on TV.... Even when there is just one figure skater on the ice, sometimes the camera misses a spin At the closing ceremonies, we did miss things too... There is so much going on, there is no way one gets to see everything... same in real life... it's no big deal really.

For the producers of any live show that is also being broadcast on TV, one of the trickiest things is getting the balance right so that the spectators on site and the viewers on TV get the full feel of the show. When neither of them are getting that, it is not a good thing.

And that is before we even get to the fact that some of the things that were in the show were highly offensive to a lot of people around the world. I admit that I didn't watch the Opening Ceremony, so I can't comment about it myself. But I saw the reaction over here, and it did cause a lot of outrage.

If you didn't watch them, then why mention that things were missed ? I mean, you did miss the whole thing

At the end of the day, this is a sporting event. It is the efforts of the athletes that are supposed to be talked about, not the introduction.

That's true but the OC have always been a big show... just like the halftime of the superbowl ... it's part of the games... Millions of dollars are spent there. Sponsors are involved... it's a celebration of the athletes too. It's nice to see the flag bearers who represent their countries with pride. etc.

As for the Closing Ceremony, I have heard absolutely nothing about it. So, I plain don't know if anything I just wrote would apply to it. Or if there were any other problems that arose during it.

They were very ordinary like most closing ceremonies. Some fun moments but nothing that special in my opinion.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

The OC were conceived with TV viewers in mind. Spectators watching in Paris certainly viewed the whole thing later if they felt like doing so.

That is the mistake a lot of event organisers make - catering more for the TV viewers than for the spectators on site. It is the people coming through the gates that bring in the money. If fans feel they could see more watching on TV in the comfort of their own home, they won't bother going. And the organisers will lose a fortune because the smaller number of ticket sales won't cover the costs of holding the event.

Having corporate sponsors helps, but at the end of the day it is bums on seats that make the difference.

That's a point - how did things work at the Opening Ceremony in Paris? With it being spead out over such a large area, and with so many people living and working within that area, I can't imagine that it would have been possible to have people pay to enter the area. They would only really be able to charge for entry to designated viewing areas. But, there would be plenty of other places that people can watch from for free.

That's a problem that the organisers of what is currently the biggest outdoor sporting event in Northern Ireland has. The North West 200 motorbike race is held on the roads joining three towns (including the hometown of both our most successful figure skater, Jenna McCorkell, and one of our Paris 2024 Gold Medallists, rower Hannah Scott). And because of this, they can't make people pay to enter the circuit. The only income the organising club has is from sales of programmes and grandstand tickets. And there are lots of spectators that don't buy either of those. So, although there are lots of people attending, there is not a lot of money coming in. Which is a major problem, because the insurance that the club has to have in case of accidents is rocketing.

There used to be a lot of smaller motorbike races held on closed public roads right across the island of Ireland. But, all but one have now stopped in recent years because the organising clubs' income does not cover the costs of holding them (primarily due to the increasing cost of insurance). Even the biggest race of them all, the Ulster Grand Prix, which used to be a World Championship race, has stopped.

I should add - when we go to races, we always buy a programme. But we don't usually buy grandstand tickets, because there are nearly always better viewing spots to where the grandstands are located.

I didn't feel like this was a problem, plus it's not true that we see everything on TV.... Even when there is just one figure skater on the ice, sometimes the camera misses a spin At the closing ceremonies, we did miss things too... There is so much going on, there is no way one gets to see everything... same in real life... it's no big deal really.

That's why I added the caveat "if the best camera shots were used", because often the camera angles leave a lot to be desired. I don't know about anybody else, but when we have a lot of things happening on the stage / arena floor, I would prefer we stay on a static camera that shows the whole stage / floor rather than switching between multiple camers that are focussing on particular things that are happening. Even if it means that things are really small. Because then you would get a fuller picture of what is happening.

That is something that really winds me up when we have circus type acts or dance troupes on "Britain's Got Talent". TV viewers don't get the full feel of the whole performance like the people in the audience do. And in the last couple of series, they have introduced slow-motion shots during the performances, so you miss the next bit of what is happening. (And because the music is still playing at normal speed during the slo-mo shots, you don't see if what they are doing is in time with the music!)

If you didn't watch them, then why mention that things were missed ? I mean, you did miss the whole thing

Sorry, I should have made it clear that the paragraph about things being missed was talking in general about TV coverage of live events, rather than specifically about this Opening Ceremony.

But, yes, apart from about 2 minutes of the Parade Of Nations, I did miss everything of the Opening Ceremony.

That's true but the OC have always been a big show... just like the halftime of the superbowl ... it's part of the games... Millions of dollars are spent there. Sponsors are involved... it's a celebration of the athletes too. It's nice to see the flag bearers who represent their countries with pride. etc.

For me, big shows like these are unnecessary. It's a sporting event - people want to see the sport. Anything else is not needed. The Olympics are already hugely expensive to host, so why add to the expense with massive productions?

If they really must have an Opening Ceremony, just a wee simple 15 to 20 minute affair like we get at some skating events would be sufficient for me. A short speech (not rambling on!), the presentation of the flags, the taking of the oaths, the singing of the anthems, and the lighting of the flame is all that is really needed. Of course, as you say, it is nice for the athletes to be able to take part in the Parade Of Nations. So, if you include that, it would add maybe an hour to it. But that would be enough to do the trick.

Plus, it always really galls me that the sporting competitions at the Olympics (be they Summer or Winter) start on the Wednesday, but the Opening Ceremony isn't until two days later on Friday night. And everybody, from the media to the IOC, pretends that nothing has happened yet, and that the action doesn't start until the Saturday. Which is highly disrespectful to those athletes that have already been in action. For goodness sake, if you can't fit all the competitions into the time between the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, then extend the length of the event so that they do fit!

I totally understand why the organisers would want to have Opening Ceremony on a Friday night and the Closing Ceremony on a Sunday afternoon. I have no problem with that. So, instead of them being 16 days apart, have then 23 days apart. Yes, extending the event would add to the expense of hiring venues, accomodation for athletes and their teams, etc. But it is only extending it by 4 days (remember, the sport currently starts on the Wednesday before the Opening Ceremony). And that extra expense could be balanced by cutting down on unnecessary extravagence elsewhere (*cough* the Opening Ceremony).

They were very ordinary like most closing ceremonies. Some fun moments but nothing that special in my opinion.

See. If they can do ordinary for the Closing Ceremony, why can't they do it for the Opening Ceremony?

Anyway, I know I am biased because I don't agree with the Olympics being put up on a pedestal. But, with the costs of hosting big multi-sport events putting places off bidding to host them, something has to be done to make them more affordable. And Paris having an Opening Ceremony on this scale is not sending out the right message to potential bidders for future events.

Look at the Commonwealth Games. There is currently no host for the next edition in 2026, or for the following edition in 2030. For the 2026 Games, the state of Victoria in Australia won the bid in April 2022, but then pulled out 15 months later in July 2023 because of escalating costs. And so far, no replacement host has been found. For the 2030 Games, there were only two bids, both from Canada, and both ultimately pulled out.

It would be a travesty if they did not go ahead. As I said in the gymnastics thread after Rhys McClenaghan's win, for many sports the Commonwealth Games are the highest level that a lot of athletes get to compete under their own flag at. Including those from Northern Ireland. The Games mean a lot to these athletes. If they fell to the wayside, it would have devestating knock-on effects in sports in these places.

And if the costs of the Olympics are not brought under control, they could be heading the same way. It wouldn't be fair on the athletes to see sports and numbers of athletes being cut (we've seen the effect the latter has had on figure skating, particularly Pairs), so the answer is to cut down costs on the non-sporting side of things.

Enough of my waffling. It's time for breakfast.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[skatesofgold]

I was actually at the Opening Ceremony (across from Notre Dame, in a matter of fact), and rain aside, I enjoyed my experience. Would it have been better in a stadium? Maybe, but with the category of tickets I had, I would have been in nosebleeds (or I wouldn't have been there at all), and I wouldn't have seen much of anything other than what was on a screen anyways. I liked being outdoors in Paris and I liked that more people could be there than if it was held in a stadium. Over 300,000 is no joke and that doesn't include people who had accommodations on the Seine, which wouldn't have been included in the official ticket count. I know a lot of people would contradict my opinion as the weather conditions were what they were that evening/night, but I think if it hadn't rained, there would be less negative opinions. It felt like a giant viewing party.

 

[el henry]

I was actually at the Opening Ceremony (across from Notre Dame, in a matter of fact), and rain aside, I enjoyed my experience. Would it have been better in a stadium? Maybe, but with the category of tickets I had, I would have been in nosebleeds (or I wouldn't have been there at all), and I wouldn't have seen much of anything other than what was on a screen anyways. I liked being outdoors in Paris and I liked that more people could be there than if it was held in a stadium. Over 300,000 is no joke and that doesn't include people who had accommodations on the Seine, which wouldn't have been included in the official ticket count. I know a lot of people would contradict my opinion as the weather conditions were what they were that evening/night, but I think if it hadn't rained, there would be less negative opinions. It felt like a giant viewing party.

Thank you for your in person report, that sounds wonderful,

And jumping off, for the Olympics, I would need to disagree with the proposition that the person is the stands is footing all the bills. NBC paid far more for viewing rights than all the tickets of all the events combined.

Is that the best arrangement for a perfect world? I don’t know, I’ve never lived in one.

 

[4everchan]

That is the mistake a lot of event organisers make - catering more for the TV viewers than for the spectators on site. It is the people coming through the gates that bring in the money. If fans feel they could see more watching on TV in the comfort of their own home, they won't bother going. And the organisers will lose a fortune because the smaller number of ticket sales won't cover the costs of holding the event.

nope.. it's the tv sponsors that bring most money. Local people will always go.. I was at Vancouver 2010 and didn't have tickets for the ceremonies.. but was downtown celebrating with so many people that they blocked the bridge access to the city. Too many people were coming in. During the Olympics, it's a big celebration for the locals, so there is no worry to have there. However, for the rest of the world, and for the Olympic movement, having ceremonies catered for global viewership via tv or streaming, paid in part by huge sponsors (broadcasting companies) is the way to go.

Having corporate sponsors helps, but at the end of the day it is bums on seats that make the difference.

a stadium can contain how many people, 80K for the biggest ones ? Do the maths... It's a grain of salt in the ocean.

That's a point - how did things work at the Opening Ceremony in Paris? With it being spead out over such a large area, and with so many people living and working within that area, I can't imagine that it would have been possible to have people pay to enter the area. They would only really be able to charge for entry to designated viewing areas. But, there would be plenty of other places that people can watch from for free.

People were watching from their balconies etc.

That's a problem that the organisers of what is currently the biggest outdoor sporting event in Northern Ireland has. The North West 200 motorbike race is held on the roads joining three towns (including the hometown of both our most successful figure skater, Jenna McCorkell, and one of our Paris 2024 Gold Medallists, rower Hannah Scott). And because of this, they can't make people pay to enter the circuit. The only income the organising club has is from sales of programmes and grandstand tickets. And there are lots of spectators that don't buy either of those. So, although there are lots of people attending, there is not a lot of money coming in. Which is a major problem, because the insurance that the club has to have in case of accidents is rocketing.

Comparing a niche sport like motorbike racing to a global event like the Olympics isn't really relevant in my opinion.

There used to be a lot of smaller motorbike races held on closed public roads right across the island of Ireland. But, all but one have now stopped in recent years because the organising clubs' income does not cover the costs of holding them (primarily due to the increasing cost of insurance). Even the biggest race of them all, the Ulster Grand Prix, which used to be a World Championship race, has stopped.

I should add - when we go to races, we always buy a programme. But we don't usually buy grandstand tickets, because there are nearly always better viewing spots to where the grandstands are located.



That's why I added the caveat "if the best camera shots were used", because often the camera angles leave a lot to be desired. I don't know about anybody else, but when we have a lot of things happening on the stage / arena floor, I would prefer we stay on a static camera that shows the whole stage / floor rather than switching between multiple camers that are focussing on particular things that are happening. Even if it means that things are really small. Because then you would get a fuller picture of what is happening.

That is something that really winds me up when we have circus type acts or dance troupes on "Britain's Got Talent". TV viewers don't get the full feel of the whole performance like the people in the audience do. And in the last couple of series, they have introduced slow-motion shots during the performances, so you miss the next bit of what is happening. (And because the music is still playing at normal speed during the slo-mo shots, you don't see if what they are doing is in time with the music!)



Sorry, I should have made it clear that the paragraph about things being missed was talking in general about TV coverage of live events, rather than specifically about this Opening Ceremony.

But, yes, apart from about 2 minutes of the Parade Of Nations, I did miss everything of the Opening Ceremony.



For me, big shows like these are unnecessary. It's a sporting event - people want to see the sport. Anything else is not needed. The Olympics are already hugely expensive to host, so why add to the expense with massive productions?

Tradition. Celebration. Youth and health promotion. A lot of people only watched the ceremonies. The Olympics are more than a sporting competition. It's a cultural event.

If they really must have an Opening Ceremony, just a wee simple 15 to 20 minute affair like we get at some skating events would be sufficient for me. A short speech (not rambling on!), the presentation of the flags, the taking of the oaths, the singing of the anthems, and the lighting of the flame is all that is really needed. Of course, as you say, it is nice for the athletes to be able to take part in the Parade Of Nations. So, if you include that, it would add maybe an hour to it. But that would be enough to do the trick.

Plus, it always really galls me that the sporting competitions at the Olympics (be they Summer or Winter) start on the Wednesday, but the Opening Ceremony isn't until two days later on Friday night. And everybody, from the media to the IOC, pretends that nothing has happened yet, and that the action doesn't start until the Saturday. Which is highly disrespectful to those athletes that have already been in action. For goodness sake, if you can't fit all the competitions into the time between the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, then extend the length of the event so that they do fit!

I totally understand why the organisers would want to have Opening Ceremony on a Friday night and the Closing Ceremony on a Sunday afternoon. I have no problem with that. So, instead of them being 16 days apart, have then 23 days apart. Yes, extending the event would add to the expense of hiring venues, accomodation for athletes and their teams, etc. But it is only extending it by 4 days (remember, the sport currently starts on the Wednesday before the Opening Ceremony). And that extra expense could be balanced by cutting down on unnecessary extravagence elsewhere (*cough* the Opening Ceremony).

I am glad you are not the one deciding how these things should go

See. If they can do ordinary for the Closing Ceremony, why can't they do it for the Opening Ceremony?

The opening ceremonies are a big welcome to the world inside a city, a country, a culture. Then, for two weeks, people celebrate and compete. At the end, there is no need to showcase what we have all been experiencing for two weeks. It's just a party for the athletes and an introduction to the next hosts. It's perfectly fine that it's less elaborate.

Anyway, I know I am biased because I don't agree with the Olympics being put up on a pedestal.

Yup. Every time there is a topic about the Olympics, you have been clear about this. It's okay, we all have our biases and being aware of them allows to hear the perspective of others.

But, with the costs of hosting big multi-sport events putting places off bidding to host them, something has to be done to make them more affordable. And Paris having an Opening Ceremony on this scale is not sending out the right message to potential bidders for future events.

Look at the Commonwealth Games. There is currently no host for the next edition in 2026, or for the following edition in 2030. For the 2026 Games, the state of Victoria in Australia won the bid in April 2022, but then pulled out 15 months later in July 2023 because of escalating costs. And so far, no replacement host has been found. For the 2030 Games, there were only two bids, both from Canada, and both ultimately pulled out.

Honestly, Commonwealth Games are perhaps no longer that relevant. It's a celebration of the British Empire... do we still need that ?

It would be a travesty if they did not go ahead. As I said in the gymnastics thread after Rhys McClenaghan's win, for many sports the Commonwealth Games are the highest level that a lot of athletes get to compete under their own flag at. Including those from Northern Ireland. The Games mean a lot to these athletes. If they fell to the wayside, it would have devestating knock-on effects in sports in these places.

Interesting bias here... so you value more the Commonwealth games than the Olympics... for many sports, the Olympics is the highest level and the only really meaningful one in terms of marketing opportunities they have... Of course, some sports like Athletics have events all year long, every year, and ways for the athletes to make a living but it's not the case for many other sports... Who really talks about Canoe other than at the olympics ???

And if the costs of the Olympics are not brought under control, they could be heading the same way. It wouldn't be fair on the athletes to see sports and numbers of athletes being cut (we've seen the effect the latter has had on figure skating, particularly Pairs), so the answer is to cut down costs on the non-sporting side of things.

The costs of Olympics is variable. Montreal Olympics cost a fortune but the city used them to create infrastructure that was much needed. In some other places, it is much cheaper because the venues are already available. Again, the ceremonies were heavily sponsored.

Enough of my waffling. It's time for breakfast.

CaroLiza_fan