Exhilaration & shock at the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony. On the importance of including daring narratives within mega events
Dr Beatriz Garcia
Consultant | Author | Speaker | Strategist | Researcher | Expert in European Capitals of Culture, Olympic Games & Art Festivals
Revisiting my favourite moment of shock & exhilaration from the #Paris2024 #OlympicOpeningCeremony
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"?a ira | Liberté" is the segment taking place at la Conciergerie palace, with a choir of decapitated Marie-Antoinettes singing from the balconies, while opera singer Maria Viotti chants the famous revolutionary song 'Ah, ?a ira' accompanied by the heavy metal guitars of French band #Gojira.
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The contrasts are spectacular, the colour red is magnificent against the palace, particularly during the paper+smoke-blood finale, and the sound is electrifying.
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I am analysing the impact of this ceremony and its narrative: how it worked on the day for live spectators at various locations; how it translated into live media representations worldwide; how it was summarised by the press next day; how it has been evolving as a collection of personal memories for both its fans and its detractors; and how it looks now (and over time) for those who may want to watch its 'official' full-length version online - available via the IOC / Olympic Youtube channel.
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This ceremony is particularly complex, not just due to its unprecedented scale - taking over the whole of Paris city centre - but also due to the many alterations to the established Olympic opening narrative structure and the many innovations (as well as provocations) in its approach to storytelling for a global audience.
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The importance of this being 'France' and 'Paris' doing the telling cannot be underestimated, when it comes to understanding how the creative team managed to get their vision approved. (I wonder whether the creative teams of future opening ceremonies, no matter the country, will be trusted in the same way. They should).
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As a researcher of grand narratives and the role of large-scale events as catalysts for placemaking and contemporary mythmaking, I am interested in the capacity for international event organisers to conceive and present narratives in as creative and diverse forms as possible.
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There is a classic tension between independent artists and creative producers when it comes to 'what works' or 'what is suitable' for a broad national and international audience. In 2024, a common trend for major event opening ceremonies ( from Paris 2024 to #EuropeanCapitalsofCulture such as Bad Ischl-Salzkammergut 2024 and Bod? 2024) seems to be to become more daring in their storytelling, decline an exclusive focus on safe common cultural denominators,? and introduce (alongside crowd pleasers) some segments that may not be to everybody's liking. This, of course, leads to many controversial headlines the next day. And many negative public reactions. Organisers (and funders) may wonder : is it worth taking such risks? Shouldn't such moments of collective celebration just be a big party everyone loves?
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I was in Paris and I spoke to a very broad range of Olympic international guests. Their reactions to the Paris Opening ceremony were mostly negative. I also spoke to a very broad range of French people - their reactions were extremely positive - in fact, enthusiastic. Personally, I was as enthusiastic as the latter. I loved the ceremony - and applauded its risk-taking when it came to mixing the tone, the pace & focus of its many performances.
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Now, however, with my academic hat on, I am taking time to understand what generated the strongest aversion to this ceremony - within the international media & international spectators, in particular; what generated confusion, what infuriated or disappointed… as well as what created the strongest enthusiasm, what amazed audiences and media the most…
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It is September 2024 and the jury is out there: let's figure out what may dominate the long-term interpretation of such a daring experiment.
IOC Advisor; MD Formidable Productions; Director of Music
6 个月Purely personally it was a ceremony made for TV with huge problems for the live on-site attendee to contextualise a slow parade of boats with cultural interjections that they had to watch on a screen. I really hope you are actively contrasting with the Paralympic Opening Ceremony which made such excellent use of the outside location and content. That’s your model….IMHO!
International cultural policy designer. Founder KEA European Affairs.
6 个月Thanks for your take on this , Beatriz. French people liked it because it was original, arty , creative , playing with French history, the country ‘s heritage but also its ability to mix the contemporary ( rap, hard rock , dance … and the tradition ( ballet , republican gard) . We also had the subtitles ( on the context) as the powerful performances , mixing so many art forms ( music, dance, theatre, video , films ) was intelligently referring to what France stands for - universalism , inclusion, and freedom but also violence ( the revolution) It was quirky and funny with sometimes very moving and emotional moments , with fabulous performances from local and international artists playing on Paris , the city of love . All was kept secret and the bad weather could not spoil it. At a time where the country is deeply divided , artists show their capacity to gather people and bring back some cohesion. The latter was the most impressive outcome. The athletes seemed to enjoy it , despite the rain. This was important too. Foreigners may hve lost lot in the translation and commentaries from journalists more versed in sporting issues than art and history. Strange how much sport and art/ culture ignore each other whilst having same impact.
professor at Faculty of dramatic Arts, Belgrade
6 个月Bravo Beatriz, me and my husband enjoyed it, and I will really like to read your analysis of narratiives that were presented! Most of our friends had critical comments, "moral majority" in Serbia was schocked with numerous scenes, supported by the church, while this dialogue of the city memories and arts, with new challenging issues - was for me the key element. Intertextuality, transmediality...and simple beauty of new artistic expressions !!! Eager to read the text!
Director of Policy and Impact at Spirit of 2012.
6 个月Love this. Interesting to hear about the different reactions you heard from French & non-French viewers. I spent the week after the Opening Ceremony in Brittany with extended family, including French citizens. One had just finished her second viewing of the entire ceremony and adored it - she was impatient with criticism of the 'Last Supper' section, and singled out the Revolution scene and Aya Nakamura's performance in particular. The idea of 'daring narrative' feels pretty key to the longer term impact of the ceremony, and how to give that more weight that the immediate viewer reaction.