2024 Summer Olympics
The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad and officially branded as Paris 2024, is an international multi-sport event taking place from 24 July to 11 August 2024 in France, with the opening ceremony having taken place on 26 July. Paris is the host city, with events held in 16 additional cities spread across Metropolitan France, and one subsite in Tahiti, French Polynesia.[4]
Paris was awarded the Games at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru, on 13 September 2017. After multiple withdrawals that left only Paris and Los Angeles in contention, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved a process to concurrently award the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics to the two remaining candidate cities; both of the bids were praised for high technical plans and innovative ways to use a record-breaking number of existing and temporary facilities. Having previously hosted in 1900 and 1924, Paris becomes the second city ever to host the Summer Olympics three times (after London, which hosted the 1908, 1948, and 2012 Games).[5][6] Paris 2024 marks the centenary of Paris 1924 and Chamonix 1924 (which in turn marks the centenary of the Winter Olympics) and is the sixth Olympic Games hosted by France (three Summer Olympics and three Winter Olympics) and the first French Olympics since the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville. The Summer Games returned to the traditional four-year Olympiad cycle, after the 2020 edition was postponed and instead took place in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paris 2024 features the debut of breakdancing as an Olympic sport,[7] and will be the final Olympic Games held during the IOC presidency of Thomas Bach.[8] The 2024 Games are expected to cost €9 billion.[9][10][11]
More than 10% of the population of France is Muslim. If Christian imagery is appropriate for a French Olympics surely Islamic imagery is too.
Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony began at 19:30 CEST (17:30 GMT) on 26 July 2024. Directed by Thomas Jolly, it was the first Summer Olympics opening ceremony to be held outside the traditional stadium setting; the parade of athletes was conducted as a boat parade along the Seine from Pont d'Austerlitz to Pont d'Iéna, and cultural segments took place at various landmarks along the route. Jolly stated that the ceremony would highlight notable moments in the history of France, with an overall theme of love and "shared humanity". The athletes then attended the official protocol at Jardins du Trocadéro, in front of the Eiffel Tower. Approximately 326,000 tickets were sold for viewing locations along the Seine, 222,000 of which were distributed primarily to the Games' volunteers, youth and low-income families, among others.
The ceremony featured music performances by American musician Lady Gaga, heavy metal band Gojira and soprano Marina Viotti, Axelle Saint-Cirel (who sang the French national anthem La Marseillaise atop the Grand Palais) rapper Rim'K, Philippe Katerine (who portrayed the Greek god Dionysus), Juliette Armanet and Sofiane Pamart, and Canadian singer Celine Dion. The Games were formally opened by president Emmanuel Macron. The Olympic cauldron, which was lit by Guadeloupean judoka and sprinter Teddy Riner and Marie-José Pérec, has a hot air balloon-inspired design topped by a 30-metre-tall (98 ft) helium sphere; it is allowed to float into the air above the Tuileries Garden at night. For the first time, the cauldron is not illuminated through combustion; the flames are simulated by an LED lighting system and aerosol water jets.
The ceremony sparked significant controversy among Christians and others due to a performance that featured drag queens reenacting the painting "Le Festin des Dieux" by Jan van Bijlert, which depicts various Greek gods partaking in a banquet at Mount Olympus. Many perceived the performance as mocking Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" which portrays Jesus and his apostles, which led to widespread outrage from Christian groups and others.
Critics worldwide, including conservative politicians and religious leaders, condemned the act as blasphemous and deeply offensive. They argued that the portrayal disrespected a sacred Christian event and demanded an apology from the organisers. The artistic director of the ceremony, Thomas Jolly, stated that the intention had been to promote love and inclusion, not to offend or divide. The organisers apologised, emphasising that the performance was meant to celebrate diversity and community tolerance, not to mock religious beliefs.
Olympic Village
Air Conditioning
Food
Vegan food.
Some people are calling it the Hunger games.
Imane Khelif
Androgen insensitivity?
Some commentators are calling it a success.
Seine River
French admit the river is unclean.
Strong current.
Raygun
Rachael Louise Gunn (born 2 September 1987), known competitively as Raygun, is an Australian academic and competitive breakdancer.
She is a lecturer in the Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language and Literature at Macquarie University Faculty of Arts. Her research focuses on breaking, street dance, hip-hop, youth culture, and gender in politics. She is a member of the Macquarie University Performance and Expertise Research Centre.
Gunn gained international notoreity after competing in breaking at the 2024 Summer Olympics, the sport's debut at the Games. She received a score of zero in battles against three opponents and did not progress past the first round. After her performance, Gunn became the subject of widespread criticism and online mockery. An anonymously-filed petition on the website Change.org calling for an investigation into Gunn's position on the Australian Olympic Team was removed after being reported by the Australian Olympic Committee for containing misinformation and defamatory content.
In the breaking event at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Gunn did not receive any points from the judges in each of her three round-robin battles against her opponents, losing 18–0 in all three rounds. She was eliminated at the round-robin stage after being beaten by Logistx (US), Syssy (France), and Nicka (Lithuania). As her performance and outfit did not match her competitors' street style, Gunn was subject to widespread criticism online. In response, Gunn shared a quote on Instagram: "don't be afraid to be different, go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that's gonna take you". She said she could not compete athletically with her younger rivals, and said she instead wanted to "move differently, be artistic and creative. ... I was always the underdog and wanted to make my mark in a different way".
Team Australia's Chef de Mission, Anna Meares, later issued a statement supporting Gunn and condemning what she called "trolls and keyboard warriors". Martin Gilian, the Head Olympic breaking judge, said that Raygun had done exactly what breaking is supposed to be about: "originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region", which he said she achieved with her kangaroo hop. He added that the breaking community stood behind her. The World DanceSport Federation also offered the support of their safeguarding officer in case Gunn was experiencing mental health problems due to the media attention.
In the aftermath of the event, false rumours spread that Gunn's husband, Free, was a national coach involved in the Australian team selection and a judge in the Oceania Breaking Championships through which Gunn qualified. However, the Oceania qualifier did not have Free nor any other Australians on its judging panel, used the same rules as the Paris games, and was open to everyone.
An anonymous petition on Change.org, calling for an investigation into the conduct of Gunn, Anna Meares, and the selection process, garnered thousands of signatures. This petition aimed to hold Gunn accountable for "unethical conduct" at the games, also accusing Raygun of "manipulating the selection process" while calling for a public apology from both Gunn and Meares. The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) chief executive Matt Carroll demanded the petition be withdrawn, saying it amounted to "bullying and harassment and is defamatory" and that the AOC was especially offended by the insult to Meares. It stated that the Australian selection was made by 9 independent international judges, and that Gunn was nominated legitimately by DanceSport Australia to the AOC for selection. Gunn is not any kind of officeholder with AUSBreaking nor DanceSport, and no athlete appealed against her selection. The petition was withdrawn by Change.org on 15 August 2024.
On the same day, Gunn posted a video on social media talking of the effect that the trolling expressed on social media had had on her and her family, and asked media to stop harassing her family, friends, and the Australian and broader breaking community. She said she had taken her entry seriously and worked hard to prepare.
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