Saturday, September 14, 2024. Around 10 a.m., I stand in front of my volunteer sports bag, rummaging for my uniform. Everything is washed and neatly stored, and I hadn’t actually planned to take the clothes out again so soon—except for the trousers, which will make excellent hiking pants.
Two days ago, my wife stood behind me, clapping enthusiastically. Volunteers could enter a raffle to take part in a parade for the athletes in Paris.
I checked my emails and realized that I, too, had received such an invitation.
My photos from Paris 2024
As it turns out, French television invested 4 million euros to bring this event to life. The wave of enthusiasm among Parisians and the French during the Olympic Games was simply too great, so some organizers wanted to carry that momentum forward. The broadcast begins at 4 p.m. and lasts until midnight. It is set to start with the parade, followed by a presidential ceremony awarding medals to the medalists, a wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe, and finally a live concert.
Marie and I both enter the draw, but only I win participation. It’s becoming a running gag, because I would actually prefer to skip it—especially since I now have to go alone. The barcode is non-transferable, and Marie would never forgive me if I missed the spectacle. So I squeeze into the tracksuit and slip into my sneakers, which look as good as new after a spin in the washing machine.
The meeting point is at the roundabout of Avenue des Champs-Élysées above the Franklin D. Roosevelt metro station, which is, of course, closed for security reasons and forces me into a bit of a scavenger hunt through Paris. Via Rue Washington, I enter the Champs-Élysées after a police check and find myself alone on the grand avenue, lined with temporary barriers. Only in the distance can I see police officers or soldiers. A group of these soldiers turns out to be mountain troops. I approach them because I find their headgear amusing. I leave the restricted area again to re-enter at the designated entrance: Entrance E10 opposite 17/19 Avenue des Champs-Élysées.
In France, those who arrive on time wait the longest. I stand for half an hour with several hundred people in green and blue shirts in front of the entrance. A group of police officers passes through the waiting crowd of volunteers and paid staff. They are greeted with rhythmic applause and chants of “Police, Police.” The young officers know how to handle the situation and interpret the attention accordingly. My experiences as a volunteer with the police have been consistently positive, and I assume the friendly reaction is not meant ironically.
We are let in and guided into different holding areas. The volunteers stand at the front, followed by the paid staff in blue. Behind them is a group of fans, and at the very end, the main actors: the French athletes. Once again, it’s time to wait. I stand among a group of 450 volunteers, representing the 45,000 volunteers in total.
My photos from Paris 2024
After the sponsors have circled the honorary ramp with advertising vehicles and the Olympic Phryge has walked up and down once, we are finally released from the holding area and stroll up the Champs-Élysées alongside the honorary ramp.
Although I had been standing there rather unenthusiastically until now, I can’t help but smile. The spectator stands behind the barriers are filled with cheerful people cheering us on, even prompting me to cheer back. Unfortunately, contrary to my hopes, I don’t meet anyone I know. At that moment, Marie sends me a message because television has captured my joy and she has spotted me in the crowd.
Shortly before the end of the ramp, we line up along it and wait for the athletes. First, a group of selected fans passes us, making a lot of noise and creating a lively atmosphere. Only then do the athletes step onto the ramp. A volunteer in a wheelchair stands next to me and annoys me a bit because he keeps bumping into my shin in the crowd, and I cannot move away. But he turns out to be a stroke of luck: it is precisely this wheelchair user who attracts the Paralympic athletes to take selfies with him. As a result, the entire procession stops near us, and friendly conversations develop between athletes and volunteers. This hardly ever happened in the village, as we were supposed to leave the main protagonists alone as much as possible. A man with a gold medal around his neck slips out of his wheelchair and positions himself next to our wheelchair user for a selfie, while other athletes engage in crowd surfing, being carried over the heads of the volunteers amid the cheering crowd. A wonderful symbol of these Games.
The athletes have completed the ramp, and now we are allowed into a restricted area in front of the Arc de Triomphe, where Thomas Bach and then President Emmanuel Macron deliver speeches from a stage.
We do not really experience the ceremony itself, and since there are still three hours until the concert begins, I decide to head home. It has become cool, and unfortunately, I still haven’t met anyone to spend a pleasant evening with. By the time I get home, it will be 10:30 p.m.
My photos from Paris 2024
And yet: France made the most of the Games. The atmosphere in Paris during the Olympics was fantastic, and the investments will likely have paid off. In great haste, projects such as Line 14, numerous wastewater treatment plants, and the Olympic Village—which is intended to provide housing for students—were completed, developments that would otherwise have taken decades. It is a pity that Germany no longer seems capable of hosting such a major event.
In this sense: Paris 24, case closed.
