It was very strange. Overwhelming. Occupying a seat in the Tokyo Olympic Stadium, the Saitama basketball hall or the tennis complex and hearing nothing except the shouts of the athletes or coaches and the bouncing of the ball or ball. Because, except for some volunteers, there was no one in the stands. It was also unusual to enter for the opening ceremony and leave the people of Tokyo, who were the ones who had paid for that party, on the street. It happened in Tokyo, in 2021. That is why the Paris 2024 Olympic edition will be so special. It will be the edition of the return of the public, who will be able to vibrate with the feats of the athletes between July 26 and August 11.
To achieve this, the French capital is preparing a grand staging, with an opening ceremony that will not take place in any stadium, neither Olympic, as is customary, nor football (as happened in Maracaná in 2016), but on the street. Nothing more and nothing less than along the Seine. This uncorking, which promises to be sensational, will also entail an immense security operation, with almost 30,000 security agents on the streets daily.
With equestrian taking place in Versailles, beach volleyball under the Eiffel Tower and fencing in the Grand Palais, Paris will organize Games that want to be unique, the third in its city after those of 1900 and 1924.
They will be the most street-oriented in history due to the concentration of competitions in the Plazas de la Concorde or the Trocadero. Photographers will get their boots on the ground with those images, you can be sure of that.
As for proper names, for example that of the American gymnast Simone Biles emerges. After being blocked at the Tokyo Games and showing the world how important mental health is, also in sport, Biles returned to the fore in recent months with the desire to be present in Paris and continue adding to her record of achievements. luxury.
The marathon is not far behind in terms of expectation, within athletics, the most important sport of the Games. A third gold, unparalleled in the event, for Eliud Kipchoge, in a tough fight with the world record holder, his Kenyan compatriot Kelvin Kiptum, would be the icing on the cake for a legendary career. Inside the stadium, the brilliance of the triple specialist Yulimar Rojas and the pole vault king Armand Duplantis ventures, who knows if accompanied by two universal records.
As usual, the Games will have their political derivative, with the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on the table and with the eternal battle between Israelis and Palestinians as a focus of discord. Regarding Spanish participation, the COE already has more than 120 places, but will have new opportunities to increase its presence, especially in close pre-Olympic competitions.
