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My thoughts on Paris 2024. Ceremonies The oc was a bold attempt at changing up quite a tired stadium oc format, but I don't believe it was entirely successful. The rain didn't help and I do really empathise as nobody wanted to see all that hard work go to waste. I really do believe that with beautiful sunshine the parade of nations on the Seine would have come across as vastly more visually entertaining. As it was, it did turn into a bit of a disaster. I feel the whole production could have done with better execution - from better camera angles to a better explanation of what we were being shown. I absolutely loved several elements including the Marie Antoinette segment(stunning) and Celine Dion closing the oc, singing 'hymne a l'amour' fom the eiffel tower was just a magical moment that will go down in Olympic oc history. The cc for me was a disaster. I was bored to tears and it seemed to me that very little effort really went into it. The extinguishing of the flame was lame and I found the LA handover just a bit too cheesy. The best moment of the night for me was seeing the red hot chilli peppers perform from LA. OC - 6.5/10 CC - 2/10 Venues I can only repeat what others have said, the backdrops were stunning and Paris sparkled off the TV screen. I loved how centralised the venues were and appreciated the added touches that made the games more immersive such as the cauldron placement and the ability to see the athletes parade on stage. Personally, I do like a proper Olympic park, but that's just me. 9.5/10 Organisation Everything seemed to go off relatively hitch free despite the transport attacks before the oc. A few issues noted issues with the food offering and beds in the village. Who would have thought that London would trump Paris on food. 😂 But seriously, apart from some minor camera angle frustrations in some sports, I mostly didn't have any complaints as a TV viewer of the games. I feel you really needed to attend the games to have a more informed opinion. 8/10 A few random pros - The city looked amazingly well kept on TV. Far better than the impression I was left with as a tourist visiting in 2019. - It was amazing to see venues so well attended and few empty seats. My personal bug bear. Bravo for this, Paris. - The cauldron placement and execution was inspired. It really was stunning. - The look of the games was beautiful. I even grew to like the lilac track. A few random cons - I was frustrated that Paris decided to use so many faces of the games that were from overseas such as Gaga and Snoop dog. I wanted to see more French culture on display. - I got the impression that we were celebrating Paris rather than France. This was a shame. I have never seen a games where a city rather than host country has been so entirely dominant. - Whilst I enjoyed the vocal support that was delivered from the Parisian crowds, I do feel that at times it came across as arrogant and one sided. I did feel that in some sports French athletes were supported to the detriment of others. I guess this is inevitable when you have a passionate home crowd but I did get a little frustrated at times with how partisan the crowds were becoming. - Breakdancing does not belong in the Olympics. Agreed? OVERALL RATING 8/10 One of the more iconic summer games. I will always be biased toward London 2012 but I am sure this is inevitable as it was my home games. I can see many comparisons between what I experienced in London and what I hear French people are also experiencing right now - that post games pride and high that no criticism can take away. I certainly feel that Paris is right up there as one of the better summer games hosts - just for me a little less special than Sydney and London. A job well done, Paris. You did these games your own way with some successful ideas that I am sure will be taken forward by future hosts. You should be rightfully proud.

Jimmy Fallon really has a special way of destroying memes. She was becoming an ICON for us Zoomers. On a lighter note, I think it's really a testament to how incredible Paris' games were that they brought so many members back to this forum and seems to have left us all with really tender memories and emotions. I wanted to sit with my feelings for a few days, and the interaction between Lee and Michelle really cemented this impression. My verdict: A+, easily the best games since London 2012, and arguably one of the best games of the modern era going back to LA84. Sure, the ceremonies could've been better and the irony of the food not being good is *rich* (given Chirac's comments back in 2005!), but these complaints all pale in comparison to the sheer triumph and majesty of these games. In these two weeks Paris has given much-needed life and vibrance to the Olympic movement and I frankly cannot remember the last time I was more excited and optimistic about the future of these games.

They should've used Dragon boats. Let the friggin' athletes earn their dinners. They just concentrated on the whole flotilla and then everything fell apart at Le Troc. I knew they were going to mess up somewhere. The whole thing was just OVERLY ambitious. And indeed the stade at Troc was really too small to have accommodated even 5,000 athletes on that floor if they all decided to stay on. They should've cut the cruise in half by starting about 3Km from the Troc. That would've compressed the whole evening and you wouldn't have had to hide the deserting crowds at Troc. Also, just have had the damned lighting there at Le Troc instead of that long, pointless detour to an empty Tuileries garden. I don't think this telecast will win any awards this year.

So there, here we go. My final summary about the rather bitter-sweet German performance in Paris. As I said before, these were the Summer Games closest to home since 1972, lots of German fans (including yours truly) on site, but no (half) home advantage at all. 4 medals less than in Tokyo, which was already the lowest since re-unification, just about 10th in the medal table and again being beaten not only be more or less equals like Italy, UK or of course the host nation, but again the Netherlands as well, a country the fifth in population of Germany... Now, onto the details (if you care enough to read a long post): ARCHERY The mixed team delivered (and I was there to see it!) with a great silver medal. A pity that Florian Unruh then lost his bronze match in the singles, but all in all again a very successful Olympics for our archers. ATHLETICS 1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze - that is certainly a lot better than at the last WC (0 medals), and there were a few more good performances with PBs/SBs even if not advancing further. So a good result all in all (even if Leo Neugebauer gave away a few points too many here and there), and Yemisi Ogunleye is a sure fire candidate for Sportswoman of the Year. BADMINTON They did not survive the group stages. German badminton is simply not competitive at world level. BASKETBALL Unlike basketball, with the amazing gold in women's 3x3! The "big" women's team also did better than expected at their first Olympics and the men...well, they'll still have the World Cup title. There's reason to be optimistic for this sport in the future. BOXING In the end, there were even three competitors and one won a bronze, so that's a good outcome I guess. CANOEING In the sprint discipines, 2-1-1 medals, very reliably delivered. In the slalom/cross events, a silver and a bronze this time - not as great as in Tokyo, but still very good results, only our Tokyo champion Ricarda Funk was really unlucky in both her events. CYCLING Went as expected on the road, MTB and BMX, and while there were two medals in the women's sprint events, the track results felt rather disappointing overall. Other countries were obviously better prepared this time. DIVING No medals this time, but also not really expected. Some nice final places at least. EQUESTRIAN What would we do without our horses? 4 gold and 1 silver, including the very surprising victory in show jumping, mean that Germany has now won exactly 100 equestrian medals at the Olympics. FENCING Escrime 1976's own domain was already very diminished this year. Both fencers reached their quarter finals, but that was it. Very disappointing that we're now three Olympics in a row without fencing medals. FIELD HOCKEY The men lost a tough battle for the gold, while the women unfortunately again dropped out in the quarter finals. A bit of hit and miss there. FOOTBALL Coaching legend Horst Hrubesch did it again and brought the team even without their injured star player to the podium. That's more than could be hoped for really. GOLF If there was a medal for Germany that really came completely out of the blue, it was the silver for Esther Henseleit. Really nobody had much interest in the golf events until on the last day she ran away with it! GYMNASTICS Artistic went without a medal this time but with Lukas Dauser's recent injury and not back in full shape, that was kind of expected, though Helen Kevric as the youngest German in Paris showed great performances and seems a promise for the future. On the trampoline, the expected exit in the qualification. But then there was the outstanding Rhythmic Gymnastic performance by Darja Varfolomeev, our first medalist since 1984, and then even a gold! Also the 4th place for Margarita Kolosov was a great achievement. HANDBALL While they were completely destroyed in the final, the silver for the men's team is a great success. The women had a bad start in the tournament but reached the quarter final at least, so all things considered they can be happy too. JUDO Now I can't complain as I saw the preliminary rounds of our silver medalist live at the arena, but that Miriam Butkereit was the only one to make it to the final, and only Anna-Maria Wagner and the team having a chance for bronze (and both losing it) was quite a disappointment. Especially the men weren't getting anywhere this time. MODERN PENTATHLON Our most famous pentathlete Annika (ex-Schleu, now Zillekens) put a final twist on her career as she was only reserve candidate for the final, partied at the German house and then yesterday morning learned she could start. Well, she had no chance, as did our men who however had decent performances in the final, but that chapter (and the horse stable) is now closed for good. ROWING Oliver Zeidler crowned himself, plus one more medal for the women's quadruple sculls, but nothing for the men's eight. A happy and a sad eye there and need for improvement overall. SAILING Have to say it all passed me by a little, but unlike in Tokyo there weren't any medals grabbed this time anyway. The kite surfers came closest, so the new discipline made a nice debut. SHOOTING I've mentioned it several times in my daily summaries. The performance of our shooting team was a disaster. Only four qualifications for the finals, and that despite having four no. 1 in the world rankings. Absolutely shocking - there weren't any medals in Tokyo either, but this time it feels even worse. SKATEBOARDING Went as expected, i.e. without a hope in hell to reach the finals. SPORTS CLIMBING Slightly disappointing, but not really unexpected, that nobody made it to the finals. SURFING As I wrote: They had fun in Tahiti, that's it. SWIMMING The first male pool gold for a German since 1988! And on the first day in the first event even - well, it didn't continue in the same form, but at the end some good results (e.g. 100 breastroke men, 100 butterfly women, and of course Isabel Gose with several good positions and her bronze over 1500). Plus the silver in the open water, so all things considered, German swimmers can be happy with Paris (some individuals like Florian Wellbrock probably not so much though). TABLE TENNIS The final curtain for Timo Boll did not come with another medal. It feels that on the men's side, they've missed a bit the point of handing over to the next generation. The women, while losing the bronze match, however seem to have a rising star in their ranks. Let's see how Annett Kaufman as the subsitute who stormed through the team competition will fare in the future. TAEKWONDO Another loss in a fight for bronze by our only participant, but at least she got that far. TENNIS Quite emotional to (in hindsight) attend the last ever career victory of Angelique Kerber! Very sad that the next day she crashed out so narrowly. But like the other Germans, she left Paris empty-handed, and that is also one of the rather negative stories of the German team. There were clear medal chances for Zverev, the men's doubles and the mixed but none got further than the quarter final stage. TRIATHLON A golden relay was simply, as Escrime 1976 would put it, Seine-sational. Individual events not so much, but hey, no need to complain at all! VOLLEYBALL A silver at the Eiffel Tower beach was a great result, while the men's team was clearly robbed in their quarter final against France. They got a lot of attention though, so hopefully just like with basketball, there can be a bit of a surge in the future. WRESTLING No medals, and apart from one bronze match, nobody advanced anywhere near medal chances, so that was a disappointment tournament for the German wrestling team this time. Germany did not qualify anyone in breaking, water polo, artistic swimming, rugby sevens or weightlifting (especially the later was a negative surprise in the lead-up to Paris), so there could be no over- or under-achievements during the Olympics. Thanks for reading so far - this year I tried to give a bit more of a German perspective as I was fully into the Olympics mood, going for the first time live. I hope you enjoyed a bit these summaries.

Well might as well join the bandwagon. Don’t know if anybody on here can remember me, but I used to post as Safrican back in the early and mid 2000s. I remember a few heated arguments in the bid race for 2012 - I was steadfast that Paris had it in the bag. How things have turned out. It’s been such a long time that I can’t even remember my previous account details, thus the new account lol. As for Paris 2024, just loved it from start to finish. The unique approach to the opening, the stunning venues, the way Paris was at the heart of it all, the great crowds, I can go on and on. Really enjoyed it and up there for me with my all time favourite Barcelona 92. Heck it got me posting here again, though I have been lurking. After the disappointment of Tokyo and with everything going on in the world it felt like such a tonic. I still am very enamoured with the Olympic movement and the ideals behind it. Over the past decade or so it has just felt as though the world has fallen out of love with the Olympics and it felt that maybe just maybe Paris 2024 brought some of that magic back.

And that's what has contributed to making Barcelona's games exceptional.

Damn. I was looking for the 2 locks of hair edition. You were so close to a sale there. 😂

Signed, LIMITED gold-leaf edition with Titanium covers!! With a lock of gran-gran-gran-pere's hair no less!

Good to see you still around, Michelle. Did you go to Paris for the games?

Never again.

But we’d miss out on…

LOL! Okay. This why I often need a sub-editor to proofread my stuff

Can I also confess to a bit of a crush on the French accordion player during the oc. Cute.

Some verdicts from various parties: Michael Payne, former IOC head of marketing: “These Games will go down as one of the all-time great Olympic Games,” the 66-year-old Irishman told AFP. “The presentation of Paris as one massive Olympic venue, with its incredible iconic buildings as a backdrop, has had a massive impact on the TV ratings around the world,” he added. “Paris, with their venues throughout the city, set against iconic stunning backdrops (and no major new sports infrastructure built), will kickstart a whole new era in cities wanting to host the Olympic Games, much as Barcelona 1992 did,” he said. Terrence Burns, former IOC marketing executive: “Paris has set a ‘very high bar’ for Los Angeles. “Each Games brings something unique,” the American told AFP. “This one will be remembered as much for the city as the Games that took place in it. “So much was riding on the success of Paris 2024. Each venue felt like a piece of history and I loved how they used the city itself as the canvas upon which to paint a beautiful Games - unmatched.” “The beach volleyball venue was the most amazing setting for any sporting event I’ve ever seen,” he said. Hugh Robertson, Chair of the British Olympic Association: “If there is one thing I really learned from Paris, it is using temporary venues in stunning locations,” he told AFP. “Future hosts should use it as a template in not building permanent stadiums and instead putting temporary stands in beautiful locations.” “The equestrian venue at Versailles was stunning, one of the greatest venues of all time,” said the 61-year-old. “Sitting in that bowl looking out with the Palace of Versailles in the background, I cannot think of a better venue in the five Games I have been to.”

Seb Coe as PM would've been unbelievably incredible. I'm glad he didn't end up in No.10 though. It would've forced him to be more partisan and politically combative. I feel like he's carved out an incredible position from which he can have a positive influence on the Olympic movement, which of course is bigger than any one nation.

Yeah, I’m definitely Team Seb as well. Can’t think of anyone better credentialed. I actually do trust him. in the words of the great philosopher SportsLightning, “We’ll see”.

And thank you (and @Olympian2004). It’s great the national team threads became a thing again at these games. Always nice to drop in for a bier at the Team Deutschland tent.

It's so good that you said probably because I have a degree in urban planning and am a practicing professional in the field! A number of my peers work in transportation planning and engineering specifically, in both the public and private sector. You will be so happy to hear that the last time we had lunch together we were smacking on parking and how it should not be free anywhere. The future in our hands is your nightmare muahahaha Also I dislike Not Just Bikes a lot because his rhetoric has just turned into mindless anti-car spewing. He sucks, but unfortunately some of the points he makes is rooted in literature.

That topic is a very old one actually. I think it's already going back 130 years when Coubertin initiated the modern Olympics and the Greeks made sure to host the first ones and then had the idea of the intercalated games (which only happened once in 1906) to go back to the original home regularly.

You are ridiculous, besides being Canadian. Focus on your own country first before asserting totally false things about a country that is thousands of kilometers from you. Two metro extensions (line 14, line 11), a tram extension (line 3a), an RER extension (E) accelerated expressly to be delivered in time for the Games. This represents approximately 25km of line in total. The Seine "swimming" plan, which even if it has not yet been mitigated, already has effects on the cleanliness of the Seine (10x more fish species in ten years), as well as on the risk of flooding which is reduced, with new reservoirs built expressly to accumulate the surplus water. 6,000 homes in a department which is suffering cruelly from a lack of housing, half of which is reserved for students and social housing. Renovated sports infrastructure throughout Paris and its suburbs that can be used by local clubs; because in addition to the competition infrastructure, there are also a lot of small structures that were in dire need of renovation and which hosted the training sessions of the delegations. A significant effort has been made in the renovation of Paris' historical heritage. In particular, the Grand Palais, which was in a way "saved" thanks to the Olympic Games, because its renovation was very expensive and the Olympic Games were able to release the necessary funds. And a bunch of little things that add up to a considerable legacy. But for that, you might have to live in the country in question to realize it? It's easy to write thousands of kilometers from the place in question, but it also runs the risk of quickly looking like an idiot. So you want the Olympic movement to die, but you're registered on a forum that only talks about that (and which, logically, doesn't want it to die at all)? But what are you doing here?

I know I shouldn't engage with a troll... but... Aside from the improvements to the Seine, the Athlete's Village will be turned into new much-needed housing. Further, Paris (Like Atlanta 1996 and LA84) used mostly existing and temporary venues. They kept costs low. These were a games for the people to enjoy and based on the reviews by our French friends (and others who made it to Paris this summer), the games succeeded in that regard. Paris' bid committee did not overpromise. They promised exactly what they delivered. I think this notion that the games must always have huge infrastructure improvements or whatever is what got us into the messes of Rio, Sochi, and Athens--tainting the Olympic brand and movement. Global cities like Paris and Los Angeles can simply host the games and inspire the world without a bunch of add-on bells and whistles. Which, really, is exactly what the movement needs right now.

My verdict will probably looks different. I'm French, I have been waiting for Games at home since 2001 (I was 10 but I remember where I was when I learnt that Paris 2008 lost vs Beijing) and I had a dense programme in Paris: one event on site each day, generally a morning session, and both ceremonies (and of course watching Olympics on TV as soon as I was back at the hotel). First, the opening ceremony. I bought the cheapest possible ticket, in a zone with no seated places. But a little bit later, I received an email asking if I wanted to join the supporters' square. You've certainly seen huge athletes faces on cardboard during events: that was part of the supporters' squares that were put in place to support French athletes, and one of them has also been set up for the ceremony. So, I wasn't placed at the very start of the parade as expected but close to the end, just before the Passerelle Debilly that was on my left, the Seine in front of me, a giant screen of my right, the top of the Eiffel tower behind me and a French flag given at the entrance. It started calmly, looking at the screen for the first acts. Then, the Greece boat arrives, those who were the closest to the river started to applaude and waving their flags for every boat. Then, the Festivité segment started. It was an incredible party, culminating with the arrival of the French delegation (a few minutes before, we received bigger flags to welcome them) Unbelievable feeling to have a party all around: looking at the river, then the bridge, checking the giant screen and looking back at the Eiffel tower, with spectators dancing and partying. Oh yeah, it rained too. Nobody cared. I attended 19 sports events and absolutely no problems, the biggest hiccup was a delay for the doors opening at the Stade de France the very first day. Nobody noticed the intruder just before the men 100m final, just wondering why the start took so long. Everything was well indicated, volunteers were on top, Phryges were phryge-ing... Excellent mood everywhere. However, shame to Coca-Cola. Before the Games, they claimed they'd reduce their plastic consumption by using fountains and reusable cups. I haven't seen a single functioning fountain: when you ordered a drink, a bottle was taken out of a fridge, poured into a cup and the bottle was thrown. Completely stupid. There were an extra event for me: the Marathon pour tous. I took part to the 10km run and once again, incredible atmosphere. A lot of spectators considering that it's an amateur race. When I say "a lot", it means that, at 2am, there were so much people cheering that I wonder how professional athletes deal with so much noise. Also, it's a Paris tour by night so you can imagine the panorama. And now, I have a medal with Olympic rings on it. Wonder if I can add OLY to my name... Finally, the closing ceremony. I haven't seen the TV version yet, so it's only from what I've seen from my seat. I thought the artistic part would be more important and more integrated with the others parts of the ceremony. That was great but I expected even better. Probably too long too, some people started leaving during the LA sequence. As a whole, these 19 days were extraordinary, a period out of time and space. If you are in the US, in Australia or in any future host countries, I hope you'll be able to enjoy these future Olympics as much as I did. And try to be fitter than me, I covered 140 km despite the dense public transportation network, my feet and my back need to rest before Paralympics.

My guess for UEFA Euro 2032 Host Cities would be: Italy: Rome/Roma Milan/Milano Turin/Torino Naples/Napoli Florence/Firenze Turkey: Istanbul Konya Ankara Bursa

Enough has been said about what was wrong with this ceremony, and I don't think me piling on will help much. I'll stop my deeper criticisms by saying Paris is very fortunate that Rio hosted it in 2016. As we say in America, you'll never be the worst as long as Mississippi exists. The music was spectacular. Based on the Leitmotifs, I'm assuming it was produced mostly by Woodkid. This was quite emotional for me. Paris has been using Woodkid since their Bid back in 2015! Woodkid again produced the handover ceremony's music in 2020. I loved this continuity, and it's something I think almost everyone missed. Instead, I'd like to offer some suggestions for how this ceremony could've been improved. The concept of a ceremony on the Seine was novel, and I think Paris should be commended for breaking the mold. Aside from the rain (which frankly, the organizers should've anticipated...the climate is changing but Paris is notoriously rainy this time of year), I feel the concept fell apart because it failed to take advantage of the backdrop of Paris. Watching the ceremony for a second time during NBC's re-broadcast, it shocked me how little we see of the Seine's banks! So many iconic vistas are completely lost. Perhaps this is due to poor camera angles. But I think it's down to how the show was structured. From my perspective, it seems they tried to fit traditional arena set pieces onto the banks of the Seine rather than letting the Seine's banks themselves be the set pieces. It's almost as if they weren't ready to think outside the box and settled for this weird middle ground that felt too muddled, too off-pace, and not majestic enough. Yes, Athens 2004 was a homecoming, but this was the *true* homecoming for the modern Olympics, and it didn't feel like it all. The ceremony really only came together once everyone made it to the Trocadero. In my opinion, if the organizers wanted to stay wedded to the traditional artistic set pieces while still involving the backdrop of Paris, the temporary arena constructed at the Trocadero should've been the main arena for the artistic pieces. In my idealized version, the ceremony starts on the Champs Elysee and then moves through the Arc de Trimophe into the Trocadero. As the artistic sections are taking place in Trocadero, have the athletes start processing, but only cut to them once they pass under Pont de Alexandre III. Have the torch journey be an ongoing theme of the ceremony as a whole, but once it gets to Trocadero, keep it there. Have the relay take place w/o the international athletes included (why steal LA's thunder??), but lead to the Champ de Mars. Loved the caludron, but lets have that balloon soar above the Eiffel Tower. Feel free to tear this apart, but I just think this concept was good idea but could've been executed better than what we saw tonight. France had a lot of bold ideas, but they didn't form up together right. Shame really, they had 12 years to out-do the English and failed.