C'est top, Paris 2024!

 

Who would have thought that I could top my amazing Games Maker experience at the Aquatics Centre for London 2012? But I’ve just gone and done it with two weeks as a ‘volontaire’ at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

It was my volunteer experience at Le Tour de France, Grand Depart from Yorkshire in 2014 and fluent French which ticked the right boxes. Wow – what a privilege to be chosen as one of 45,000 volunteers. Tony Estanguet, president of Paris 2024 (and French three-times Olympic champion slalom canoeist), described us as “The face, soul, heart and smile of the Games”. As volunteers we don’t get accommodation but a full kit of uniform, sponsored by Decathlon, including the much sought-after ‘Bob hat’ (le Bob).

The success of the Paris bid for the games was very much based on using existing venues to display the sports against the backdrop of iconic Parisian landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides and Trocadero. What luck – these were my locations and our managers kept telling us these were the best.

I was allocated a small, brilliant team of volontaires to support the cyclists and their personnel in a wide variety of roles as ‘services aux athletes. Fundamentally, it’s about promoting a light-hearted, friendly and courteous approach to making athletes and spectators happy to be part of the whole event.

As for the weather, the heavy rain from the opening ceremony continued the next day for the Cycling contre la montre (time trials). The huge ponchos we were given came in very useful on the Pont Alexandre III, with no shelter from the torrential non-stop downpours! The next weekend, sun cream and that Bob hat were the order of the day for the road races at the Trocadero.

Paris has always vaunted its culture, creativity and innovation and these were certainly on show throughout this festive celebration of sport. On days off-duty, I was living the dream with visits to see my favourite Musée d’Orsay, marvel at the ‘En Jeu’ exhibition at the Musée Marmottan and explore the newly opened Musée Picasso. 

I managed to get close up to La Vasque, that mind blowing Olympic cauldron in the Jardin des Tuileries. And not forgetting the sports, I took in the incredible beach volleyball at the Eiffel Tower and exhilarating athletic heats at Le Stade de France.

We couldn’t fail to be bowled over by Celine Dion’s interpretation of Piaf’s ‘L’Hymne a l’amour’, Lady Gaga’s version of ‘Mon truc en plumes’, that silver horse racing down the Seine and much more at the opening ceremony. The closing ceremony, with its science fiction interpretation of the history of the Olympics, the creation of the rings, Tom Cruise’s amazing entrance and journey to LA, showed how this Olympics was everything: sheer determination, dedication and most of all fun. Paris did it its way.

I can’t wait to complete my Olympic experience as a volontaire at the Paralympics in September and see the motto “Spirit in motion” in action. Here’s to the Olympic legacy. Let the spirit live on to inspire a new generation! C’est top!

This is a shorter version of my article for Yorkshire Bylines which you can find here.