Bienvenue à Paris - pour les Jeux Olympiques!

Arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport on 11 July marked my fifth touchdown at Paris since the early 2000s. 

Unlike previous visits, mostly for a few days of tourism, Olympic writing or the handover ceremony from Tokyo 2020, this time I'm setting up residence for several weeks.

The longer visit to the City of Lights is thanks, in part, to a certain national Olympic committee which initially (in early 2024) offered a long-term pre-Games volunteer assignment that was later reneged only after some nonrefundable accommodations were secured. 

But I'm not bitter -- in just two days I've gotten reacquainted with Paris, walked a couple dozen kilometers, seen three museums and stopped by Hotel de Ville (city hall) in relation to blogging credentials. Here's one happy writer easing into a summer of experiences on the heels of a week vacationing in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya, Turkey.  

All across central Paris there's a curious mix of activities in anticipation of the Games. Lots of construction, though most of the venues (except for the stadium seating along the Seine) appear to be in place and operational. 

Look of the Games banners and bunting are going up on a few more buildings each day. Not one person -- local nor tourist -- seems to know a thing about Olympic pin collecting traditions. 

But everyone knows the torch relay, and with today's national holiday hundreds of thousands will see Olympic torchbearers at iconic sites across the city, including the Arch de Triomphe, Petit Palace, Luxembourg/Senat and other destinations. After the morning parade my intent is to reconnect with the torch relay convoy at the Louvre, where the flame will visit Mona Lisa herself. Stay tuned for photos.

By the way, thank you for reading. If you made it this far, count yourself among the 851,375+ all-time visitors to this website. 

Will it reach 1 million by mid-August 2024? 

With appreciation to all readers, please share, comment and repost if you care to help achieve this ambitious goal in play since 2008. 

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver

USA Swimming Hosts '24 Olympic Trials Splashdown at Indianapolis, a.k.a. Racing Capital of the World

Tonight through June 23, just over a thousand (1,007) qualified swimmers will compete in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Swimming inside the cavernous Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis.  

According to the meet press kit provided by USA Swimming, which kindly granted a media credential, "this meet is the only way for an American pool swimmer to make" Team USA's squad of 26 women and 26 men entered at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. 

Making history as hosts to the first swim meet contested in an NFL stadium, the city also known as racing capital of the world has rolled out the red, er, blue carpet for thousands of out-of-towners who poured through Indianapolis International Airport today. 

As visitors deplaned and made their way to baggage claim, the pool-blue footpath eventually revealed a miniature medals podium photo opp stop and patriotic "Welcome to the Trials" signage. 

Excitement for the event is palpable from the Uber/Taxi stand to hotel lobbies and along the downtown walk to the stadium, which now has two temporary pools -- one each for competition and warmups -- in the stadium divided by a massive curtain. 

From a perch on one of the media rows along the finish line end of the racing pool, swimmers aged 14 to 46 are mingling with coaches, security and meet staff. 

Opening night includes superstar, legend and newly branded bestselling author Katie Ledecky, who's racing in the 400-meter freestyle long course less than a week since the release her page-turning autobiography "Just Add Water" (review forthcoming). 

Some additional details about the competition space: 

• First time 70-foot-tall vertical digital board topping off the athlete entrance (I suspect this is really gonna pop on live broadcasts via NBC and Peacock)
• Water (1.8 million gallons) is sourced from the nearby White River, purified and treated for competition; after post-event filtration, it's all heading back to nature
• Three years of planning, 8,000 hours of fabrication, 12 collaborating entities, four weeks for installation 
• Pools will see new life at permanent sites in Fort Wayne, Ind., and the Cayman Islands

As of this post, more than 10,000 are in attendance, with a target on an all-time record. 

More updates to follow!

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver

Unsolicited Suggestions for New Olympic Traditions

A letter dated May 25, 2024, went out via U.S. Mail addressed to Maison Olympique in Lausanne, Switzerland. 

Here's a slightly redacted version, posted to see what may resonate. 

Reader feedback via the comments at the base of the post will be greatly appreciated. 

To: Thomas Bach, International Olympic Committee President

From: Nicholas Wolaver, Editor of Olympic Rings And Other Things

RE: Unsolicited Suggestions for an Olympic Opening Ceremony Tradition

President Bach: Greetings from Atlanta. Though your schedule and priorities perhaps enabled the memories to slip, we met on two occasions during and between Olympiads, first at the Coca-Cola Pin Trading area of Russia House in Sochi (at a ceremonial Winter Games pin exchange) then again at Rockefeller Center when the IOC and Intel announced their worldwide partnership in 2017.

At this latter meeting you were kind enough to offer encouragement for a longtime research project through a lifetime membership of International Society of Olympic Historians. 

As a witness to the IOC's and your progress, both through media coverage and from conversations with two of our mutual acquaintances, I am aware of your general desire to pass the torch to future successors with the IOC on solid footing and some fresh or refreshed traditions. With this IOC presidential legacy in mind, I am writing to suggest an idea for the Opening Ceremonies that could establish a new tradition while solving a longtime challenge.

The challenge is finding a way to memorialize Olympic Family members who were lost due to tragedy, war or upheaval, or natural causes. With varying degrees of success, the IOC and Olympic host city organizers created one-time fixes, such as moments of silence for the Munich '72 families or those who perished in the London bombings only hours after that city won the 2012 Olympic bid. 

Though it is possible and likely others suggested similar ideas, what follows is my version of a solution: Create a permanent "in memoriam" segment during the Olympic opening ceremony combined with a toast to Olympians past, present and future. 

Here are details in support of this suggestion:

• The Grammy Awards, Academy Awards, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and other global ceremonies each including "in tribute" or "in memoriam" segments of their live broadcasts. The popular segments are intentionally brief with highlights spanning the past year of losses for the organization's membership, award winners and influencers. Through a highlight reel during the opening ceremony, the Olympic Family could pay tribute to a partial list of Olympians or contributors lost since the most recent previous Olympiad and/or icons for all time. 

• As with the Grammy, Oscar and other events, the highlights need not be comprehensive as an expanded version of the "in memoriam" tradition could live online, in social media or elsewhere, inspiring conversations and tributes to those lost (with a broader audience beyond the opening ceremony telecast viewers).

• 
  Various cultures worldwide celebrate those who were lost with a memorial toast at special celebrations. In my native USA, a family Thanksgiving holiday meal may include a toast in remembrance to those lost during the previous year followed by a toast to everyone's health or victory in a struggle.

• The IOC's version of a toast could mark a transition in the opening ceremony just after the athlete and official oaths but before the arrival of the torchbearers to light the cauldron.

• Possible remarks from a designated/invited VIP presenter could speak with a traditional toast: "Please join the world in a moment of silence as we reflect on Olympic Family members lost along the journey to tonight's celebration" (after 15 seconds of silence, roll tribute footage compiled to include nods to Munich '72 and other Olympic Family members with memorial music).

• 
  Historic Olympic toasts include modern Olympic founder Pierre de Coubertin offering a toast on 23 June 1894, the final night of the first Olympic Congress in Paris: "I lift my glass to the Olympic idea, which has traversed the mists of the ages like an all-powerful ray of sunshine and returned to illuminate ... a dream of joyous hope."

• Whether viewed in the stadium or on live streaming or televised broadcasts with official host TV networks, the globally universal themes of "good luck" or "to your health" -- as assembled in the world's languages listed [below] just after my signature of this letter -- could appear upon the screen, inspiring audiences at hope to make their own toasts to goodwill. Through translation of the phrases pasted below, you will find commonality or overlap with Faster, Higher, Stronger, Together.

• With Worldwide partners AB InBev and Coca-Cola, all could ceremonially "raise a beverage" for the toast.

• With a seemingly endless parade of increasingly tragic world events from the pandemic to armed conflict, natural disasters to the misdeeds of doping, the toast/memorial segment could support the underlying message of "we're all in this together" and "we're more alike than we may realize" or "we're all human."

My guess is that your team already found creative answers to the recurring challenge of commemoration. Additionally, my hope is the suggestion outlined above may express support for answers already devised or contribute a voice in the spirit of finding a solution to "the memorial problem."

I look forward to future opportunities to informally meet, compare notes on Olympic history/future, and to trade pins. Please enjoy the enclosed as an addition to your collection, with my compliments. 

Thank you for your consideration. 

Sincerely, 

Nicholas Wolaver, Editor

Olympic Rings And Other Things

Ceremonial Toasts In Any Language

अच्छी सेहत • Bersulang • به سلامتی • Будем! • Brindem • Будзьма! • Будьмо • ชัยโย • Chang hala • Cheers! •   乾杯 • Chin-chin • cul sec • Dô  dzô • Egészségünkre • Εβίβα • Fenékig • გაუმარჯოს! • 건배 • Gesondheid • Gëzuar • Կենացդ • Наздраве • 予焦啦 • Hölökyn kölökyn • Εις υγείαν • I sveikata • Jam e Sehat • Je via sano! • Kampay • 乾杯 • kippis • lechyd da • Le’tanachin • לחיים • Mabuhay • Mayri ora • หมดแก้ว • 請請 • На здравје • Nazdravlje • Noroc • Pohjanmaan kautta • Priekā • Proscht • proosit • Proost • Prost • بصحتك Saħħa ¡Salucita! • Salud • Salut! • Salut i peles! • Sănătate • santé • Saúde • Serefe • skool • Hirup • Skål • skál • Sláinte mhath • Tagay • "तरङ्ग • Tchim-tchim • Terviseks • Tjeers • Tjorts • Topa! • Uzdravlje • vives • Ваше здоровье! • Wasze zdrowie • 飲勝 • Yam seng • Yeghes da! • Xin-xin • За здоров'я • Živjeli • Zum wohl

Top image via Architectes.ch. Image of Phoenix rising from London 2012 Olympic cauldron by Ursula Petula Barzey via GuideLondon.org.uk. Photo of Glenn Close introducing the 2014 Oscar memorial tribute by John Shearer/Associated Press via WSJ.com. Vangelis image via this YouTube post. Coubertin wine bottle via Ebay. Last of the 2010 blogger pins photo by Nicholas Wolaver. Ceramics by Lorrie Wolaver. 

Paris 2024 Unveils Grand Relais de la Flamme

Want to help the Olympic flame reach Paris? 

There's still time for nominations -- deadline 15 July -- for those seeking to fill one of the 10,000 torchbearer segments unveiled this Olympic Day. 

Each torchbearer will transport the flame about 200 meters, or just over 650 feet, which is shorter than my occasional Midtown Atlanta walks for lunch at Mary Mac's Tea Room. 

In press materials, this is estimated at four minutes per segment for the average torchbearer. Less officially that's 19 to 22 seconds for Usain Bolt or Florence Griffith-Joyner, respectively, the world and Olympic record holders for the same distance. 

With help from Google Translate, I call it la petite segment (though la petite tranche sounds more dramatic). 

During an online media preview held Tuesday morning, 2024 Olympic press team members showcased next year's torch relay route and other details under embargo until noon today in Paris. Since the first media question on the call regarded the in-progress police raid at Paris 2024's headquarters, it was not immediately clear how much resonated with other reporters in attendance. 

For this writer, the scope of next year's five-ringed route is impressive, as much for its blend of torch relay traditions with new elements as for its first-time destinations exotiques. 

Of course, the map starts in Olympia, Greece, where the Hellenic Olympic Committee will welcome the host city to launch the relay with rays from the sun on April 16, with VIP and Greek runners helping whisk aloft torches toward an April 26 ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens. 

Borrowing from past relays, the Olympic flame and its entourage will next travel by ship -- specifically aboard the triple-masted Belem -- embarking from the Port of Piraeus on April 27, heading westward to Marseille in time for a May 8 arrival ceremony. Historians may appreciate the Belem enjoyed its maiden voyage in 1896, the year Athens hosted the first modern Olympiad. 

I'm not sure how the route overlaps with past torch relays on French soil, but the chosen path generally hugs the southern coast and border -- including a hop to Corsica -- then north through several western towns until arriving at coastal Brest, where on June 7 things get intéressante thanks to the crew of another sailing vessel, the impressive Maxi Banque Populaire XI, capable of getting the Flamme Olympique across the Atlantic in eight days. This video provides a peek aboard.

Simultaneous to this oceanic crossing for the flame's first visits to Guadeloupe (June 15) and Martinique (June 17), other segments will be carried at ceremonies in French destinations including Guyana (June 9), Reunion (June 12) and French Polynesia (June 13), where weeks later Olympic surfers will ride the waves. Sidebar: Martinique is where Humphrey Bogart got quizzed RE: whistling in "To Have and Have Not."

Not sure how -- my guess is by jet (as it was not made clear in the press kit) -- but on June 18 the flame returns to France tout suite, where voilà, the route resumes in Nice for its five-week final march to the City of Lights. 

One noted curiosité: though the eastern map pinpoints a visit to 1924 Olympic host Chamonix, the route was charted sans Albertville and Grenoble, perhaps intentionally, which may leave each city's chambre de commerce to exclaim sacrebleu and others with their culotte dans une liasse.

No matter the possible flaming snubs, of the 2024 route -- it's a lot! 

Not the longest nor most elaborate torch relay, but definitely an expansive plan that will give tens of thousands of islanders or South American mainland and French residents a new or renewed option to experience the moving Olympic flame tradition. 

Those seeking to complete nominations may find helpful the Paris organizing committee's FAQ for the process.

As for the crew of Maxi Banque Populaire XI, they'll be looking for Mother Nature to follow Lauren Bacall's instructions to put [her] lips together and blow. 

Images courtesy Paris 2024, CFP on CGTN.com, and this Dailymotion link. Lauren Bacall photo via We Are Movie Geeks. Florence Griffith Joyner photo via Paul Hellstern/Daily Oklahoman

Paris 2024 En Cinq Cents Jours

Where will you be in 500 days? 

With God, a bit of planning, several serendipities and a month's pay, my aim is to be somewhere along the Seine. 

That's where, rain or shine, the flotilla of French watercraft will transport athletes of the Games of the XXXIIIrd Olympiad as part of the riverfront Paris 2024 opening ceremony. 

A lot can happen in 16 months. It's perhaps easier to predict my location just after next year's 26 July, since the recent five-ringed ticketing sale yielded two wish list track and field tickets at Stade de France.  

What tickets did you secure so far?

It's also easier to predict my desired location in about 400 days, when the next Olympic Torch Relay begins in Greece. 

The traditional route from Olympia to Athens will be a fitting preamble to the flame's arrival aboard the Belem, a massive ship, at the scenic French port of Marseille, fitting as the Greeks founded the city around 600 B.C. (thanks, Wikipedia).

In addition to Paris' opening ceremony, my hope is to also discover ticket options for tennis at Roland Garos, as well as climbing (already sold out), diving and equestrian, one of the Olympic sports not yet experienced in person. 

Also curious which City of Lights parks may emerge as pin trading hubs (a personal favorite is Tuileries Gardens). On which points of the Paris map would you pin your badge exchange dreams?

See you in 500 days -- bon voyage on the journey and adventures that await us all!

Images via Paris2024.org and this site

Paris 2024 Mascot = Chapeau du Papa Smurf

With about 620 days, seven hours and 53 minutes until the next opening ceremony, Paris 2024 officials today unveiled the upcoming Games mascots, and they are Smurf hats!

Named "The Phryges" (free-ges), the mascots for the current Olympiad are red conical caps with a bit of history and eyes/eyelashes reminiscent of ribboned-pins or Games medals. 

Just after 5 a.m. ET, organizing committee President Tony Estanguet joined athletes and assembled media to unveil Les Phryges, the Olympic and Paralympic mascots named for the historic hats donned throughout many centuries. 

Like Cobi for the Barcelona Games of 1992, it already appears Les Phryges are ready to hit the town "like any other citizen" (words used by Javier Mariscal to describe the earlier European mascot). 

In the moments describing the inspiration for the mascots, designers illustrated their work while displaying the famous personification of liberty Marianne (artfully depicted as the Paris 2024 logo) in the famous Eugene Delacroix painting "Liberty Leading the People" on view in the Louvre. 

According to the mascot press kit, "At Paris 2024, we wanted mascots that would embody our vision and be able to share it with the French people and around the world -- rather than an animal, our mascots represent an ideal [that] also represents French identity and spirit."

"A huge tribe of little Phrygian caps called THE PHRYGES is arriving!" with "Their mission: To lead a revolution through sport."

The reveal showcased a pair of Phryges, each with human-like legs and feet, with one representing Olympians and the other, donning a prosthetic blade leg, Paralympians. Please scroll to the fresh video posted by France 24 at the base of this post. The mascot duo marks a five-ringed first in that, like the logo for Paris 2024, the mascots are now the same and somewhat interchangeable for both Paralympic and Olympic use. 

During the press conference Q&A, I asked how many team members contributed to the design and the duration (in months or years) of their work. 

Though not one word of their French reply made sense to this writer, according to press materials the team spent more than a year in conversation and concept development. 

Scribing the experience here, I have to admit the design is appealing to me and the creative team scores an A+ for their thoughtful explanation, which should also resonate with children. Going into the announcement it seemed possible a human mascot might return, given the sneaker-clad feet showcased with teaser videos and GIFs. A youthful founder Pierre de Coubertin or "Coubie" (another nod to Barcelona '92) crossed my mind as an option. A friend suggested a "baguette named Pierre" was a concerning prospect. 

For this writer, the potential for the red hats and their French takeover seems sans fin. 

The mascots' detailed back-story is impressive. They've already published as a youth coloring book and within an hour of today's announcement Paris 2024 introduced an array of merchandise including pins (see image below) revealed in-step with the overall concept rollout. Anyone may already purchase mascot swag online. 

With that stated, in the instant of the reveal my brain did go to Papa Smurf, the patriarch of the cartoon characters who wore the only rouge cap of the bunch. 

What does the mascot mean to you? What do you loathe or like most about it? Please comment and share. 

Images via Paris 2024, the Louvre and Fandom's Smurgs Anon page

Getting My Games On In Paris (And You Can, Too)

With just one more day of Olympic competition at Tokyo 2020, some already are looking ahead to Paris 2024. 

Here in the French capital -- where I landed today after securing accréditation médias during the first week of the action in Japan -- organizers presented the penultimate session of Le Live Des Jeux or Live Games. 

Held daily since the start to Tokyo 2020, French citizens and a handful of tourists enjoyed live broadcasts via France 2, which I understand is the nation's equivalent to NBC in terms of broadcast rights. Today's telecast included a rerun of the men's basketball final during which France played Team USA. 

Built across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower, the live site fills the Fountains of Chaillot with a large stage, billboard-sized monitor, VIP seating, children's sports activities for families, and an Olympian meet and greet area most returning Team France athletes took time to visit. 

At today's event, three French Olympic Team medalists and two other returning Olympians spoke to a growing crowd of fans who also lined up for athlete autographs. 

The medalists also signed a large keepsake board celebrating their gold, silver or bronze accomplishments, with about 25 French media and one blogueur Américain snapped photos. Children took turns launching lawn dart-style javelins or watching karate demonstrations presented by a local dojo. 

In a media briefing held Friday, the Paris 2024 team revealed their portion of the Tokyo 2020 Closing Ceremony, also known as the handover ceremony, will include both the formal presentation of the original Olympic Flag from one city's mayor to the other. 

Simultaneously, an estimated 500 million television viewers will see "the largest ever" banner to be unfurled on the Eiffel Tower as French air force buzzes Paris with a fleet of jets and helicopters. While I did not see the evening test run of these aircraft I certainly heard and felt the vibration from their low flyover The Trocadero while dozing at the Best Western. Racing was mon cœur!    

For souvenir-minded Olympic fans, a word about Paris pins. They don't have any! 

Well, at least there are none to be seen anywhere in the live site. 

I spoke with a Paris 2024 media representative about their retail plans, and with some intention, they also do not yet have an Olympic Store as in some other host cities by the three-year-out milestone (or much earlier). Hoping to trade a few pins or Euros for one of the stylish volunteer hats which match T-shirts of green, maroon or dark blue and red for other staff roles like sanitation, officials and security. 

The rose-colored media badge was hand-written, tempting me to request they write Steve Buscemi in place of my name. 

As stated on the event press kit, Paris 2024 invite le monde rendez-vous le 8 août. 

Paris invites the world: Rendezvous on Aug. 8

So, if you are as exhausted from NBC's Olympic coverage as I was before heading to the Atlanta airport on Friday, there's an alternative option to watch the Paris 2024 handover ceremony and events in France via this Facebook event link (for access, be sure to "Like" Paris 2024's official Facebook page). 

I'll be the guy smiling and waving while donning that pink badge. 

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver