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Some years ago I slighted – sorry cited – the Eiffel Tower as a possible reason why Paris might not gain the 2012 Games for which they were then bidding.
“The Eiffel Tower, supposed symbol of France throughout the world, is on closer inspection nothing more than a steel infrastructure. If Paris can’t complete this project after 114 years, what hope is there for their plans to construct the huge range of facilities required for a Modern Olympic Games?”
The reference to this marvel of steel engineering was – ironic.
Due to a host of reasons that had nothing to do with the most imposing structure in the French capital those Games went to London.
It might have had a little to do with a swift and ruthless charm offensive by British Prime Minister Tony Blair upon voters at the International Olympic Committee Session in Singapore, coupled with reported comments in which the French President, Jacques Chirac, said of Britain: “You can’t trust people who cook as badly as that. After Finland, it’s the country with the worst food.” But it might not.
Fast forward to June 2018. Nine months earlier Paris had achieved what it failed to do in 2005 by being awarded the 2024 Games at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, with the only other contender, Los Angeles, named for the 2028 Games.
Now, on a pleasant summer morning, Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant, chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission which was making its first visit, stood directly under the Eiffel Tower following a basketball display that had taken place there featuring a number of young local players and announced: “It’s fantastic to be starting off here at this emblematic venue.
“The purpose of this first day is to create a positive atmosphere.
“We must begin this from the first day for the success of the Games – and that is what the Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet and myself would like to happen.
“We both feel it in our hearts.
“The goal of this visit is firstly to see what has already been realised.”
But the broadly content noble Belgian sounded one astringent note as he remarked: “We can’t wait many months to have a new plan for the venues”.
It was understood at the time that Paris 2024 was marking time on a venue plan as organisers needed to discuss a number of matters with International Federations over the placement and timing of events.
Those discussions were said to be running along the lines of, effectively, trading off later timings for some sports at the Games, when athletics becomes the main event, in exchange for exciting venues.
Paris 2024 was also understandably chary of appearing overconfident about the result of a July 2 vote of the Council of Paris over the application by the Grand Palais to build a planned temporary “alter ego” venue on the Champs de Mars.
That aspiration, if realised, promised to offer another attractive, central, temporary venue for at least one sport, with badminton then in the frame but not inked in.
The Paris 2024 plan, as broadly agreed in the protocol signed by all major stakeholders at the city’s Hôtel de Ville the previous Thursday (June 14), contained a number of alterations in response particularly to the Government’s budgetary report of April 1 which warned of a potential overspend, and described the proposed temporary volleyball and badminton venues at Le Bourget as “abnormally expensive”.
Beckers-Vieujant acknowledged the efforts that had been made to respond but underlined the IOC’s desire to see the details sorted sooner rather than later.
“There have been a few evolutions, but the goal for everybody is to have as soon as possible a plan for the venues,” he said.
“We can’t wait many months to have a new plan.”
Among those involved in the basketball demonstration had been France’s four-times NBA champion Tony Parker, who was named as the Paris 2024 education ambassador.
Asked what his role would be, Parker said: “I will be involved in many events, such as the one here – although I don’t know if it will be possible to organise a better location than the Tour Eiffel.”
With less than two years to go until the Paris 2024 Games get underway, the position regarding the Champs de Mars next to the Eiffel Tower is finalised, with a temporary venue – the Eiffel Tower Stadium – set to host men’s and women’s beach volleyball during the Olympics and men’s blind football during the Paralympics.
A total of 20 sports will take place either at or near the iconic Tour during the next summer Olympics – a far greater concentration than was achieved at the two previous stagings of the Games in Paris in 1900 and 1924.
The iconic status of the Eiffel Tower has already done great work for the Paris 2024 Games, as it was effectively represented in a stylish candidacy logo that also suggested the figure 2 and 4. Very neat.
Going forward, (as if there were ever any alternative in this time-space continuum) the Paris 2024 logo for the Games themselves is a daring trompe l’oeil design which, depending upon your own perception, is either an Olympic flame or a hot mademoiselle.
And the Tower rose to the occasion again today as Paris 2024 organisers used it to announce their ticketing plans, which will involve a unique method of buying via a single, global site which will be accessed via a draw.
Those who are successful will then be able to browse for 48 hours, selecting Make Your Games packages in the knowledge that they will get what they pay for without any lingering doubts.
At the first Paris Games, which was originally planned to be the opening modern Olympics until IOC members got itchy feet and chose to stage that in Athens four years earlier, no events took place at the Eiffel Tower site, but within the Bois de Boulogne – easily visible from the Tower’s observation points – croquet, polo and tug of war took place.
The croquet tournament, by the by, marked the first appearance of women at the Olympics, with Mesdames Despres, Filleul-Brohy and Ohier being eliminated in the first round of competition.
All players involved were French, and were observed by a single paying spectator – reportedly an elderly English gentleman who travelled in from Nice for the early stages.
Did he lose interest? Or was he so elderly that…
We will never know.
The tug of war involved just two teams, and ended with the hosts being beaten by a Sweden/Denmark combination that contained Edgar Aaybe, from the Danish newspaper Politiken, as a late replacement for a team member who fell ill.
In later years it would become fashionable for journalists covering major sporting events to have a medal included in their press bag of goodies.
Here was a rare and legitimate instance of a journalist leaving a Games with a medal…
Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain’s most talented sportswriters, covered the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics as chief feature writer for insidethegames, having covered the previous five summer Games, and four winter Games, for The Independent. He has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, The Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian.
Morocco and Costa Rica earn surprise wins on day eight at FIFA World Cup
When British skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won the Olympic gold medal in ice dance at Sarajevo 1984 with 12 perfect 6.0s from every judge, for their interpretation of Maurice Ravel’s Boléro, an important member of their team was singer-actor Michael Crawford. Crawford, who had played Frank Spencer in British sitcom Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em and the title role in the musical The Phantom of the Opera, had become a mentor to the pair in 1981 and went on to help them create their Olympic routine. Crawford said he “taught them how to act”. He was present with their trainer Betty Callaway at the ringside at Sarajevo as they created one of the most iconic moments in Olympic history.
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