Five tips to avoid the post-Games blues

The blues, the nostalgia, the hangover. Whatever the term, the faces are undeniably gray this Monday, August 12. The Paris 2024 Olympic Games have thrilled a large part of the country, in tune with the sporting performances as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. Now that they have just ended, here are some tips to make these emotions last a few more days.

1 Vibrate with the Women’s Tour de France and the Paralympic Games

For fans of sporting performances, who lived for 15 days to the rhythm of records and Olympic titles, The return to normal life may have been brutal. Fortunately, two other sporting events promise new emotions, starting Monday, with the first stage of the women’s Tour de France. “It will do everyone good to branch out into the women’s Tour de France, to not be a sporting orphan”has rejoices its director, Marion Rousse. The third edition of this race takes place until Sunday, with a finish on the tough heights of Alpe d’Huez.

France will also continue to live to the rhythm of sporting exploits with the Paralympic Games. From the opening ceremony on August 28 to the closing ceremony on September 8, 4,400 athletes from around the world will compete in 549 events. “We’re going to have a wonderful return match,” notably predicted the deputy general director and spokesperson for Paris 2024, Michaël Aloïsio, on franceinfo TV.

Beyond the expected sporting performances, these Paralympic Games also represent, for French people who missed the Olympic Games, an opportunity to visit sixteen of the 25 breathtaking competition sites, such as the Palace of Versailles or the Grand Palais.More than a million tickets are still available, according to the organizers. Michaël Aloïsio boasts of “affordable prices”, as “15 euros to go to the Stade de France”. Something to keep you busy until the start of the school year.

2 Become an expert on the history of the Olympic Games thanks to exhibitions

There are few museums that have not surfed the Olympic wave. Parisian establishments first and foremost: the city hall website lists no fewer than eight exhibitions dedicated to the Games, most of which are open until September. The links between women and sports are explored by the Louis Lumière Sports Center, in the 20th arrondissement, and the François-Mitterrand Library (BNF), in the 13th arrondissement, while urban sports are, for example, in the spotlight at SPOT24, in the 15th arrondissement. For its part, the Marmottan Monet museum exhibits 150 paintings, from impressionists to cubists who paid homage to sportsmen during the last century.

And how can you miss these black and white photos of athletes by Raymond Depardon in the streets of the capital? The “Instants de Jeux” tour honors the famous photographer, witness to historic moments in four Olympics. The work of his son Simon Depardon, in color this time, is also on display.

Elsewhere in France, there are also many retrospectives devoted to the Olympic Games. For example, “Champion! A popular history of sport” at the Municipal Archives of Marseille, which explores the sporting history of the Phocaean city in more depth. The Parc hasEuropean archaeological site of Bliesbruck-Reinheim, straddling France and Germany, goes back to “The origins of the Games”. Finally, the submarine base of Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique) allows, on more than 1,000 square meters, to learn tennis, basketball or even rifle shooting.

3 Dancing to the Opening and Closing Ceremonies Playlists

The closing ceremony ended with a stunning version of “My Way” performed by singer Yseult. Before this emotional finale, the band Phoenix set the Stade de France alight, joined by Angèle, Kavinsky and Air. But these are not the only musical performances of Paris 2024 that will be remembered: its official anthem and the musical sequence of the opening ceremony will undoubtedly remain in the forefront.

Playlists attempting to compile everything have been broadcast on various platforms by anonymous people, eager to relive – endlessly if desired – these moments that have become magical. While we wait for the official one, since the composer of this anthology soundtrack, Victor Le Masne, has hinted that the exclusive performances of Lady Gaga, Aya Nakamura and Céline Dion will soon be officially available. “That’s the plan, but I can’t tell you when.”he told RMC.

4 Delving into documentaries about the lives of Olympic athletes

Several streaming platforms have exploited the vein and allow, after the competition, to become an expert on the athletes who have left their mark on this fortnight. Netflix thus devotes a two-episode portrait to Simone Biles. The one who leaves Paris with three new gold medals confides in particular the importance of mental preparation for a high-level athlete. The king of the pole vault, Armand Duplantis, is the subject of the same consecration on Canal+. Also to be seen on the encrypted channel, two documentaries on Marie-José Pérec and on the legend of these Games, Teddy Riner.

On the France Télévisions channel, the series Champion(s) traces, in four seasons, the quest of young athletes, from Tokyo to Paris 2024. Bronze medalist judoka Shirine Boukli, Olympic vice-champion sabre fencer Sara Balzer and hurdler Sasha Zhoya engage in privileged sequences, at the Insep as well as with their loved ones. The documentary series At the heart of the Gamestwo episodes of which are due to appear after the Paralympics, will also help to prolong the emotion.

5 Take on a new sporting challenge

After spending hours in front of the 329 events, spread across 32 sports, the desire to imitate the adored champions may be felt, to the point of giving rise to vocations. Even before the two medals brought home by table tennis player Félix Lebrun, the craze surrounding his career and that of his brother was already generating a wave of new licensees. “In terms of licenses, we are well ahead of 2019, the last year before Covid”explained in March to franceinfo the president of the French Table Tennis Federation (FFTT), Gilles Erb.

Table tennis federations, but also judo, basketball, rugby sevens, and even kayaking and mountain biking could benefit from an Olympic effect, by attracting new fans during the traditional registrations at the start of the school year. But THE 40,000 participants in the Marathon for All have surely also inspired others by sharing their sporting achievements. In any case, this would meet one of the objectives set by the French National Olympic and Sports Committee. “Our ambition is to make France an even more sporting nation and for that to have an impact”declared its president, David Lappartient, before the Olympic Games.