Souad Soulimani has been a member of the Sport Business Observatory since 2016. Founder of MediaSpoliS specializing in media education and the production of content dedicated to female leadership, she is also president of Radio Déclic, which gives voice to the inhabitants of working-class neighborhoods on major societal issues.
These are indeed 203 delegations invited, in addition to the Olympic team of refugees in Paris to participate in the biggest sports competition in the world. A historic sequence at the headquarters of Paris 2024 this week in the presence of Tony Estanguet, the triple Olympic champion, the City of Paris, the Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castera and many institutional personalities.
We’ve been talking about it for so long. So here we are, after a century of waiting and fruitless attempts, Paris will indeed be the host city with the Olympic dream to live with eyes wide open. In a few months, less than a year, the Games will open in Paris followed by the Paralympic Games. An expected event that will be scrutinized by the whole world with a roadmap of total respect for the sporting and civic values shared by all, as Thomas Bach recalled in his speech around the history that he links to memory: ” 3,000 years ago, in Olympia, the Greek and ancient civilization offered this precious gift to humanity. Our gratitude to the Greek people is still immense to this day.
And to continue: “129 years ago, the Frenchman, the Parisian, Pierre de Coubertin founded the international Olympic committee and restored the Olympic Games of the modern era”. And it was with determination that his solemn declaration before the Minister of Sports, the Olympic and Paralympic Games Amélie Oudéa-Castera continued: “The fundamental idea of the Olympic Games is to be a competition that brings the world together, peaceful competition. At a time of wars hitting the planet, tensions inhabiting the world, we need unity and peace between peoples more than ever. This is the mission that we carry and that we defend with the Olympic Games which build bridges between peoples”.
It is in a precious silence and in front of journalists, athletes, attentive leaders that Thomas Bach will conclude by quoting John Lennon: “Imagine. You must tell yourself that we are dreamers. But believe me, we are not the only ones dreaming. This is why today, Wednesday 26 July, the IOC is sending invitations to 203 National Olympic Committees around the world”.
A message that resonates particularly in these troubled times in Europe and in such an unstable geopolitics in the world where sport has the strength to remain a universal language, an area of law and equality, respect and freedom. This is what will defend and remind the new President of the CNOSF, David Lappartient who in turn joins the scene:
“I would like to say a few words on behalf of the delegations invited and present here, but also of all those who will be present in Paris in 2024. I can assure you that we are going to organize these Games in accordance with the values that unite us. We will share friendship, peace and follow with strength and determination the Olympic motto, faster, higher, stronger. I want to address Tony Estanguet to congratulate the work of the Paris 2024 teams but also to salute the government and the local authorities involved. I know that, together, we are going to deliver exceptional Games with passion and enthusiasm. It is this passion and this enthusiasm that we want to share with all the delegations I invite to meet in Paris next year”.
The appointment is definitely made. It is also one of great challenges. That of an initiated and desired parity. And of one and the same team of France. While the Rugby World Cup will open the ball next September and will test the country against the organization of major events, the city of Paris is under the spotlight and the Ile-de-France region as the capital region goes on building sites to be able to welcome the whole world and bring sport as a tool of cohesion, passion and unity at a time when landmarks are being lost and many are wondering about their place in society.
Tony Estanguet knows it better than anyone, sport has this strength to make people freer, stronger, to bring people together, to federate by allowing them to express themselves and to exist. Whoever has won three gold medals in three different Olympiads, Sydney, Athens, London is hard at work to once again write history in Paris from July 26 to August 11, 2024. In total, 10,500 athletes mobilized , 329 events and more than 31,000 volunteers engaged in a crazy human, sporting and inclusive adventure for which we must now prepare for the future. This inspiring and impactful legacy awaited by all, starting with the territories and the inhabitants who want to believe in the power of a dream provided that we all open our eyes together towards the same horizon.