The 2024 Paris Olympics, which opened July 26 in the heart of the city, received mixed opinions over several events and the ceremony.
During the opening ceremony, there was a grand pagan feast meant to depict gods of Olympus in attendance in order to celebrate the end of the athletes’ parade. However, many people believed that the ceremony, created by Thomas Jolly, portrayed a recreation of “The Last Supper.” This was the start of the several instances of controversy throughout the events.
The cleanliness of the Seine river brought up major controversy even before the Olympics began. Citizens had been banned from swimming in the river since 1923; therefore, it surprised people when it was announced to be the location of the triathlon swimming event.
The city put up $1.5 billion in order to get the river clean for the events; however, many people were still incredibly concerned for the safety of the athletes. In order to prove the cleanliness of the Seine, Paris’ Mayor Anne Hidalgo and a couple other notable figures swam in the river mid-July.
On the day of the openings, tests were run on the river, conducting it to be unsafe for swimming. Despite this, the events still took place the next day, causing many athletes, such as Belgian athlete Claire Michel and Swiss athlete Adrien Briffod, to become ill after the triathlon. Some of these athletes were hospitalized due to the illness, but thankfully they all came out okay.
Another situation that was frowned upon by viewers was the women’s gymnastics floor event. American gymnast Jordan Chiles received a bronze medal for her routine; however, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that her provided starting score was incorrect after the event, moving her to fourth place. She was required to return her bronze medal to be given to Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu.
Towards the end of the Olympics, they held the first and last breakdancing event. The event, like many others, received mixed opinions. The 36-year-old Australian breakdancer, Rachael Gunn, received hate on social media because of her underwhelming, but hilarious, performance. Many people agree that her dance moves didn’t match the level of difficulty of the other competitions. This situation was the key factor in ruling out this event for the 2028 Los Angeles (L.A.) Olympics.
With the games coming to Los Angeles (LA) for 2028, many hope for the problems in the 2024 Paris Olympics to be prevented. Angelenos skeptically look forward to a smooth and entertaining XXXIV Olympics.
