© Copyright – 2024 – Athletics Illustrated

There have been mixed responses from viewers and groups of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony. Over one billion people watch the various broadcasts and streams. It can be assumed hundreds of millions more watched or will watch the recording and highlights afterward.

The positive

While the use of the River Seine was novel in its intention, the floating parade worked, even though the rains were constant and heavy. Imagine a sunny and clear day in Paris. Some of the pyrotechnics and light shows from the Eiffel Tower were outstanding. The pomp and circumstance were royal. To kick off the Games, to add formality to the two-week event Paris organizers put great effort into the ceremony.

Screen capture from Broadcast. The Eiffel Tower with the Olympic five rings and the Greek Wings of Mercury.

The cauldron floating above the city, is also novel. Paris put its own stamp on the Games which features the city, the Leuvre, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower and other historic sites.

French Canadian singing icon Celine Dion’s performance was perhaps the highlight of the show. She nailed an emotional rendition of Edith Piaf’s ‘L’Hymne à l’Amour (Hymn of Love).

However, not all was sublime on Friday in the City of Light.

BBC

Apparently, viewers watching in the BCC broadcast of the opening ceremony were unhappy with the amount of studio time that was broadcast. Clare Balding started the BBC’s broadcast and was joined in the studio by Michael Johnson, Rebecca Adlington and Sir Chris Hoy.

Many viewers took to social media to chastise the crew and broadcast team for focusing too much on the studio chatter than on the floating parade on the River Seine.

Screen capture from broadcast. The louvre in the foreground, the floating cauldron recently lit in the background.

“I see we’re going heavy on the studio chit-chat already.”

The BBC does not have the exclusive rights to broadcast many of the Games events. Warner Brothers Discovery bought the European TV rights for the Olympics for a reported €1.3 billion or $1.41 billion USD.

Hosts’ gaffe

The public address announcers introduced South Korea as their nemesis North Korea. They did this in both English and French. The two countries could not be more at odds with each other.

Following these events, the South Korean sports ministry has vowed to raise a strong complaint to the French government about the blunder. Former weightlifting champion Jang Mi-ran, currently involved in the Olympic organization, is demanding a meeting with International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach.

“We express regret that the country was introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games when the athletes of the Republic of Korea were entering,” read a statement.

The Olympic flag was raised upside down.

NBC

Canadian sprint legend Donovan Bailey derided the NBC broadcast crew for referring to American sprinter Noah Lyles as the world’s fastest man. According to Bailey, he is not. At least not in the 100-metre event this year.

“They regard him as the fast man in the world and I’m very certain that one Kishane Thompson is smiling and he isn’t saying something and I’m pretty sure that Oblique Seville, who is living rent-free in Noah’s head has something to say about the fastest man,” Bailey told Nationwide90 FM.

“Ferdinand Omanyala has also run very fast this year and there’s a couple of guys that are hovering around the 9.80 to 9.85 or 9.88 mark that’s going to say some things about that,” he added.

Bailey may have shot from the hip a little aggressively. World Athletics’ ranking of the top athletes is publically available at www.worldathletics.org. Currently the top-ranked 100m and 200m sprinters are indeed topped by Lyles. This is based on a series of races leading up to qualification for the Games and progress toward the start of the Games.

While Bailey is correct that there are two faster 100m sprinters during 2024, they have not necessarily met head-to-head yet. That particular drama will play out over the next two weeks during the Games. Additionally, Lyles is indeed the defending double world champion in both events. In fact, Lyles is a six-time world champion.

200m ranking

100m ranking

Bailey, known for his own showboating and vocal tirades is likely bristling inside about the Netflix series heavily featuring Lyles. He is also taking the side of the National Basketball Association who shot back at Lyles for saying at a press conference that the league champions should not refer to themselves as world champions.

Lyles is not wrong. His intention is to focus attention on his sport, which he feels should be competing with the big NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB among others.

Trans sacriligue display

Organizers surely must have known that recreating the Last Supper using trans or drag queen models would have stirred pushback from faithful Christians. It did.

Christians from around the world reacted with rage at controversial scenes where organizers had trans models preside over by Jesus Christ before his crucifixion and death almost 2000 years ago.

The Last Supper is depicted throughout the year and during religious holidays globally. The Last Supper commemorates the humility and service of Jesus Christ to humanity. While Athletics Illustrated is neutral on religious symbolism in sport and celebration, this was a poor choice.

If the Muslim Crescent and Star was depicted in any other way than its deep symbolism, the uproar would have been instant and robust. Likewise with the Star of David for the Jewish faithful.

It is an unfortunate choice that should not have been made.

Thomas Bach

Unlike his predecessors, The International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, thankfully kept his speech simple and concise. His native tongue is German, but his fluency in French and English is impressive. However, his talk of peace was coming from one side of his mouth, opposite of where he waved off the Russian attack on Ukraine, saying that many wars are going on at the same time.

Bach has both supported Russia and Russian athletes, while he has twice seemingly turned on his heel to rail against Russia’s illegal attack.

French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Games open. No speech was provided, surely to the relief of many viewers.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga’s opening act dropped jaws on social media. Gaga has made many colourful entrances to sporting events. This one may have topped her career, to date. She sang Renée Jeanmaire’s “Mon Truc en Plumes” (“My Thing With Feathers”).

Gaga, no stranger to Edith Piaf’s songs performed La Vien Rose during the movie A Star is Born and live on stage.