Skift Take
The Olympics opening ceremony in Paris unfolded below an sudden veil of rain, including an unplanned layer of drama. However this was just the start.
Paris held the first-ever Olympics opening ceremony exterior a stadium. Athletes paraded not by foot however by boat, waving flags from pontoons on the Seine.
The four-hour occasion, which included greater than 3,000 musical artists, dancers, actors, and circus performers, was marred by persistent rain, starting from gentle showers to intense downpours. The unrelenting climate brought on a number of logistical issues.
Technical difficulties plagued some floats, resulting in momentary energy outages and interruptions, whereas elaborate costumes turned drenched.
Evan Babins, occasion supervisor for world monetary expertise platform Intuit, famous {that a} protecting construction alongside the river might have mitigated the affect of the rain on attendees.
“Once they determined the opening ceremony could be on the river, they need to have deliberate for climate points. Tents, a brief construction, protection for the cameras so viewers didn’t see raindrops on the lens would have helped,” stated Babins.
He provides that extra thought ought to have been put into the truth that this was a hybrid occasion. “They didn’t join the in-person viewers with these watching nearly,” stated Babins.
A number of Missteps
The rain was not the one problem.
In a notable blunder, South Korean athletes had been mistakenly introduced as representing the Democratic Folks’s Republic of Korea – or North Korea – fairly than the Republic of Korea.
Worldwide Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams acknowledged the error, stating, “An operational mistake was made. We will solely apologize, in a night of so many transferring elements, that this error was made.”
In one other opening ceremony glitch, the Olympic flag that includes the 5 rings was hoisted the other way up towards the tip of the ceremony.
There are some who really feel the Olympic opening ceremony drifted away from its “why.” “Was this ceremony designed to honor the athletes? In the event you ask me, no, by no means,” stated Aleksandra Panyukhina, an occasions advertising and marketing government. “The entire thing was designed for the TV viewers, not the crowds within the streets, so no shock individuals didn’t stick round for lengthy.”
Emotional Affect and Olympics Controversy
The ceremony, curated by creative director Thomas Jolly, stirred emotion, not all optimistic.
A tableau depicting the Greek god Dionysus and an historical pageant honoring him was criticized for being a parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Final Supper.” Drag artists and dancers had been featured within the scene.
Jolly defended the tableau. “The Final Supper wasn’t the inspiration behind the scene. Dionysus arrives on the desk as a result of he’s the Greek God of celebration and that sequence is known as “festivity.”
Paris Olympic organizers issued an apology to those that had been offended however that wasn’t sufficient for some.
The French Bishops’ Convention, which represents the nation’s Catholic bishops, stated in a press release that the scene was a “mockery and derision of Christianity.”
Telecommunications supplier C Spire stated it was pulling all its promoting from the Olympics on account of the scene.
By no means Straightforward to Take a Probability
“In at present’s polarized world, individuals are extra hypercritical than ever. Planning one thing on this scale was no straightforward activity. I applaud the occasion planners for taking an opportunity,” stated Nicola Kastner, founding father of The Occasion Strategist and the CEO of Occasion Leaders Trade (ELX).
The night ended with a efficiency by Celine Dion from the Eiffel Tower. Her first public look since being recognized with stiff-person syndrome in 2022.
Even with the snafus, Babins thought the ceremony was successful. “I cherished that it wasn’t in an area and the best way it paid tribute to Paris. I believed taking the chance to do it in another way was a fantastic transfer,” he stated.
Trish Knox, proprietor of TK Occasions, praises the ceremony’s creativity. “They threw out the playbook to do one thing completely different. It wasn’t excellent however that’s what occurs if you end up the primary at one thing,” stated Knox.
Many occasion planners can be watching the closing ceremony on August 11. Not like the opening ceremony held within the coronary heart of Paris, this present can be confined to the Stade de France. Over 100 performers, acrobats, dancers, and circus artists can be featured.
