The part of the dream
It was impossible not to be seduced. So much creativity, originality, elegance, finesse in the impressive Parisian decor. Especially in the closing ceremony. French genius! It had been a while since we had seen him, we thought he was extinct. But he is still there, very much alive. The French themselves were surprised. And, for a moment, connected. Even the Americans cried masterpiece. And Céline, our Céline, resurrected, magnificent. Enough to reconcile oneself with this kind of pharaonic spectacle.
And the trials! A lot of beauty there too. This mixture of languages, origins, beliefs, colors, in good harmony. And these demonstrations of talent, speed, flexibility. Of youth too. And friendship beyond the competition. It was particularly beautiful to see the exultation of the athletes after their triumph: the crowning of long years of deprivation, efforts and dreams.
And the other one…
Unfortunately, there was also the element of scheming, of hypocrisy. As often happens, it is when the spotlights go out that we see more clearly. We see then that, behind a gilded façade, this year’s Games have nevertheless continued, and accentuated, a troubling trend. Their execution has indeed given itself over more than ever to the increasing intrusion of commercial interests.
The numbers speak for themselves. Of the eight billion US dollars that the Paris Games cost, the multinational subsidizers assumed almost half of it — Bernard Arnault’s empire (LVMH) alone injected US$175 million according to the WalletHub Report cited in the New York Times.
The position of strength held by the big ” sponsors “, as they say in France, continues to grow. Preliminary reports show to what extent and in what underhanded ways these large conglomerates (about twenty in number) intervened at various times (especially during the opening ceremony and the medal ceremony, but also during the course of the events) to show off their products and logos, violating the rules of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Sometimes in a not-so-subtle way: I’m thinking of the foil fencer who, during a break in the fight, walked up to the camera, took a bottle of Coca-Cola out of his bag and, very ostentatiously, took a generous swig.
Once again, no misunderstanding: I have great admiration for Quebec and Canadian athletes; courageous, exceptional individuals who honour their sport and the Olympic spirit. But I deplore the manipulation they are subjected to. As soon as they achieve their feat, people rush to wrap them in a huge maple leaf in which they are forced to strut around. It was indecent.
I also hated the avalanche of advertising that flooded our screens and that ended up making me hate what could have been a spectacle of great purity. Add to that the extremely detestable mania of TV channels that only had it in for their country’s athletes.
And our Canada?
I have never heard so many calls for pride. Maybe you have to be lacking in it to indulge in such extravagance? And then this tsunami of maple leaves (at times, I had them all over my living room). Do you think that a nation’s pride is built with big advertising campaigns? One of them, repeated ad nauseam, taught me that Canada is a great team (we will appreciate the subtlety of the metaphor in this case) of which each and every one of us would be a part. Allow me to stay in the stands.
There is still the sensational performance of “our” athletes – a “historic” record – which we must obviously applaud. But it would have been very ” un-Canadian “, I suppose, to point out that at eleventh place in the medal table, Canada was preceded by three countries with smaller populations and resources? Or to point out that Canada narrowly beat Afghanistan with nine gold medals to eight? Hello pride…
These Games should be a celebration of humanity that distracts for a moment from the conflicts, the ugliness of the world. Instead, we are treated to a disgorgement of flags, pennants, scarves, and shawls. Primary chauvinism. And complacent, over-the-top commentators who are still at it. Sixteen days in superlative mode! All this from a country that proclaims itself postmodern, postnational. Quebec in comparison? Still as old-fashioned, attached to its nation, one revolution behind.
The future
The IOC is reportedly divided. Disgruntled members would like it to take back control of operations, bring things back to reason, discipline the sponsors, repress their arrogance. But how to deprive itself of their money? No one wants to return to the austerity of antiquity, but wouldn’t a little moderation, some restraint, be welcome? We guess that these calls are unlikely to be heard (in Los Angeles in 2028, you think?). The para-Olympic players have become too powerful and the fate of the Games now depends on them.
Prestige too. It is such that a country as ailing as India is thinking of organizing them. If so, how will it go about hiding its wounds, as France did by deporting its wanderers to improvised camps where no one could see them? On this subject, one may have noticed that no cameraman seems to have moved to film them. Desecration, of course (but what a subject for a report!).
To return to India, let’s not be too disappointed: the Games are becoming more democratic (I can hear Jean-François Nadeau applauding…).