By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Olympics Editor
This is a note to Parisians regarding the 2024 Summer Olympics taking place in your city: don’t leave the city during the Games but stay and enjoy them.
Cast asise concerns of crowds, security and everything else. Take a deep breath, relax and enjoy the moments of the world of athletes and fans coming to your city.
I know how great it is to be at the Olympics first hand. I had press credentials for the Vancouver Winter Games and the positive experience will last me forever. I had a roommate who encouraged me to go; he had been to several Olympics – Montreal, Barcelona, Los Angeles – and know others who lived in Sydney and went to the Games in that city. And they all reported the same things: attending the Olympics is a bucket list event.
The People At The Olympic Games
There are several reasons for this and it starts with the people at the Games. The Olympics attracts people – fans of their country really – from all over the globe. The people are excited to be there and root for their countrymen, they have huge smiles on their faces for two weeks and are wide open to meeting and even partying with people from other countries. They are supportive of all the athletes and sport a “just happy to be here” attitude.
There is no Real Madrid vs Barcelona type of rivalries at the Olympics. It’s all fun and games at the Games. Everybody gets along with everyone else. It’s perfect, the way things are supposed to be between people. If world leaders had the same attitude, there would be no wars.
The Sports At The Olympic Games
Then there are the sports. It doesn’t matter if you see a big track and field event or weightlifting. They are all interesting. In fact, some of the smaller and obscure sports are the most fascinating because we don’t know anything about them and to see the best people in the world do it provides several “wow” moments.
In Vancouver, I went to a women’s luge event. Women’s luge, you ask? Heck yeah and it was incredible. The athletes were flying along a curved wall of ice and were just a blur. I could not believe anyone could do such a thing. Still can’t believe it.
And here’s the really cool thing: a few days later I walked into a bar and wound up partying with the team! (One, Megan Sweeney, turned out to be a real looker; you can’t see that as they are screaming by your view at 85 mph during the competition.)
The Athletes At The Olympic Games
And that’s another thing about being at the Olympics. You can have encounters with the athletes. Sometimes you see them walking down the street in their country uniforms. You may pop into a restaurant or a bar and see them there. Think about it: they are generally all young and like to go out and celebrate being at the Olympics.
In Vancouver (well Whistler, actually), I drank several pitchers of beer with the German bobsled team the first week of the Games. I asked if it was a good idea considering they were competing and they shrugged it off with a “we don’t start until next week” explanation. And you know what – they won the gold medal.
In Conclusion
Why would anyone want to miss this, I wonder. Because they just don’t know since they have never experienced the Games. And here they are, arriving right on your doorstep. You don’t have to go anywhere other than get on the Metro.
To me, it’s a gift. Take advantage of it, Parisians.
More Paris Olympics Articles:
• Paris will be fine for the Olympics