The Paris 2024 Olympic Games focused on French culture in all its forms, honoring music, cinema and, of course, the great History of France, through an opening ceremony packed with references that had the whole world in agreement. And for these new Summer Games, the International Olympic Committee has chosen to push the Franco-French envelope even further.
You've probably noticed it if you're watching the Paris 2024 Olympic events on TV, or even if you're outright on hand to cheer our dear tricolored athletes on at the top of their lungs: at the start of each sporting event, three blows are given to the floor, in the manner of theatrical tradition. A protocol innovation for these Games.
But what is the reason for these three strokes of the brigadier (the famous stick)? Performed by former and current sportsmen and women (Basile Boli in Marseille, Vincent Clerc and Dan Carter at the Stade de France), celebrities and even strangers, this new ritual astonished many in the audience, including us.
Like the three symbolic blows given at the start of every play in France, the blows struck at the 2024 Olympic Games not only demand the public's attention, but also a certain solemnity. Spectators are asked to observe a few moments of ceremonial silence and solemn concentration, in order towelcome the athletes with respect for the sporting spectacle they are about to offer the crowd.
