Parisians’ spleen as the 2024 Olympics end

It’s the last day of competition on Sunday in these Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with the closing ceremony in the evening. Two weeks of trials and happiness for many Parisians will therefore come to an end and leave a void in some.

“It feels like time stood still for two weeks, just for the Olympics”confides Romain, a Parisian who came to see the Olympic cauldron in the Tuileries Gardens. With his friend Hugo, they are already a bit nostalgic. Indeed, it smells like the end, the Olympics end on Sunday, August 11, after 15 days of a crazy atmosphere. In the streets of the capital, the blues are slowly starting to show their nose.

“It’s true that it’s nice to have two weeks of ‘break’ where you only think about sport. It was really nice”explains Hugo. And after two weeks of happiness, it will leave a void according to him: “There, it’s the blues, it’s depression. What do you want me to tell you? We had two wonderful weeks.”

“There’s sun and blue sky here, but we don’t even want to enjoy it!”

At the foot of the Eiffel Tower, in a souvenir shop, Scott hesitates between a cap or a t-shirt with the image of Paris 2024. “I needed something to keep track of, and to prove to everyone that we came here.”he says. This Canadian lived the event to the fullest and now, it’s time for vacation. “It’s not a bad thing that it’s ending, he continues, because we spent two weeks watching television so now we can enjoy our evenings or go on cultural outings, rather than being in front of the TV!”

Benjamin and his two daughters will also be able to enjoy the rest of the summer: “A decompression phase. Indeed, not much is going to happen anymore, we’re going to get back to international news, etc. But maybe a little less joyful. I think there’s going to be a bit of a blues but hey, we’re going to be on vacation so we’re going to enjoy it differently. There will be other pleasures, like the beach, ice cream, time for ourselves.”

“It went by really, really quickly and we would have liked it to last longer.”

For her part, Enora remains positive. “All good things must come to an end, as they say! But it’s also good to let the pressure go a little bit. And then there’s the Paralympics after, so it’s not really over,” she says. She hopes the excitement will be just as great. Everyone is unanimous: these Games were a real success, enough to put pressure on the Americans, like Kurt: “Paris has set the bar very high, Los Angeles has a lot of work to do”. He therefore gives us a date in 2028 for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.