The 2024 Paris Olympics Have Now Come To a Close

    

The Paris 2024 Olympics are over now. Yesterday, the Closing Ceremonies will officially brought these games to an end. They are merely in the history books and highlight reels now. 

If there's one thing which I appreciated in particular about these games, it was that the organizers really made the entire city of Paris a part of the Olympic games, more than any other games that I am familiar with. The Opening Ceeremonies were largely held along the Seine River, so that it was not just in a private, enclosed stadium specifically built for the ceremony. Regular people living or visiting Paris could simply go and see the athletes and ceremonies. The Eiffel Tower was understandably used prominently as part of the ceremonies, and it looked spectacular. Then, the Olympic flame was basically something like a hot air balloon, which both appeals to local Parisian history, as well as being highly visible for everyone in the city. 

That was a different approach and, again, I liked that, personally. More than any other Olympics that I am aware of, it felt like as much of the entire city of Paris was involved, as a community. It was more than just the marathons, which of course are always run in the streets of the host city. It was also swimmers in the Seine, and the Olympic flame, and the athletes all being transported on barges floating along the Seine.

Also, it felt like many of the events were centrally located, like the temporary beach volleyball stadium, which was almost literally in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. I also liked how many of the events were spread all across France, including French Polynesia, to make this truly a national event for the country. 

Nicely done.

More than any prior Olympics, I really got into many of the events. That included rugby, which I saw more of than at any other point in my life. Other events, too, like synchronized swimming, gymnastics, handball, volleyball (both indoor and beach), and climbing, which was particularly impressive and entertaining. 

Plus, loving the city of Paris, it was also nice to see the city live more than usual. Again, this really felt like a fun Olympics, even though I probably run the risk of seeming to be less than impartial. But it really was cool to tune in for the past couple of weeks and watch everything (except golf, which I still admittedly find intolerably boring). Everything else, however, was surprisingly engaging.

This seemed well done, from my perspective.