Paris 2024 Olympics: Sport and culture at the Games, a long love story

On your Arcs, get set. The time has come for the long-awaited Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, with more than 16,000,000 visitors expected here over the summer. In today's Arts 24, we're going to look at some of the cultural highlights taking place in the city that is arguably the artistic champion of the world. Not only will France's iconic monuments like the Eiffel Tower and the Versailles Palace be the backdrop for many of the sporting events, but there are thousands of exhibitions, shows and concerts taking place. Let's begin then with a look at the opening ceremony. With this reports from Aurora Debris, it's the most secretive opening ceremony of all times. These computer generated images might give us an idea of what's coming, but details remain highly confidential. For those who are too impatient to wait for the big surprise on the 26th of July, here are a few clues. The stage will be the River Seine itself. For the first time ever, the show will not take place in a stadium. More than 10,000 athletes and around 100 boats will sell 6 kilometres through the heart of Paris. The parade will end at the Trocadero, right next to the Eiffel Tower. For the artistic director, it's a unique opportunity. It's the show of a lifetime, the biggest show on earth. For me, artistically, the set is the most beautiful city in the world, with the Sen as my stage and this landscape that I have to work on. But what budget does he have? All we know is that the entire games are estimated at €10 billion. An extra 2.7 million might be forked out for the performance of two superstars, but who? French DJ David Guetta, Canadian diva Céline Dion or the queen of French R&B, Ayaa Nakamura. Music, circus dance Three hours and a half of magic outdoors. But what if a storm gate crashed the ceremony? Is there a Plan B? Organisers say they're thinking of distributing ponchos to the 300,000 fans on the riverbanks. The rest is a mystery. In the lead up to the Games, there's been an explosion of arts and creativity here in France. It's all part of the Cultural Olympiad, a sort of cultural extravaganza that explores the connection between art and athletics. To tell us more about what's in store, I'm joined by the man in charge of the Olympiad, Pierre Martinez. Please can you tell us exactly what is the Cultural Olympiad and where did the idea come from? It's actually an obligation for all cities that host the Olympics to, of course, show the games, but in parallel showcase a cultural program. In the early editions of the Olympic Games from 1896, there were artistic challenges such as sculpture, painting, music, architecture and poetry. I believe so. There were five artistic disciplines with a medal ceremony. They were Olympics disciplines. So what can we expect from the French Cultural Olympiad? The question we asked ourselves was how can we give a French touch to this Olympiad? We know that French people have a certain taste for all things dialectic, for discussion, for debate, even sometimes for controversy. We challenge the artist to create a discussion and a meeting between the worlds of sport and art. All I can say is that they seize the challenge. Today we have more than 2500 projects and these 2500 projects represent more than 100,000 events around France. Go on then, Pierre, tell us about some of the highlights that people can look forward to. There are quite a few highlights, but one of the major categories is art in the public space. Even as we're speaking now, I see just in front of us the National Assembly, where there are the Venus statues by the young contemporary artist Laurent Perbos. He took the Venus de Milo, a symbol of femininity, and he made a very pop by adding color by linking their arms. He's made some sporty, sometimes with prosthetics, as well as handicapped athletes. It's an homage to the world of female sports as well as Paralympic sports. Or now see, we also have a 5 kilometer course in the San San Denis dedicated to urban art with graffiti, urban art, dozens and dozens of them along the canal. Sand Denise, it's everywhere. There's also the works of Alison SAR, not that far from where we are right now on the Sean's Elysee. She's a notable American artist who will be creating art for public spaces and very close to the start of the games in July, from the 22nd to the 24th of July, we're putting on a very special show at the legendary Olympia music venue. There will be an incredible lineup over those three days with artists and athletes from Ibrahim Maloof, who will sit down with Olympics legend Bob Beaman, to Arno Asumani, a Paralympics athlete, five time Olympics champion and two time world champion. He will be chatting with a choreographer. It's a really unexpected lineup, full of surprises and quite special right before the Olympic Games. So much to look forward to. Thank you so much, Pierre Martinez. Thank you. So the arrival of the Olympics in Paris is a chance to consider the place of sport in the arts. The Louvre, the Marmaton and the Luxembourg museums all have exhibitions celebrating sport. As Olivia Salazar Winspear reports, the human body, in motion or at rest, has long been the subject of artistic creation. The ancient Greeks venerated their athletes, as this exhibition at the Louvre explains. It takes visitors through the history of the Olympic Games, from its very first exploits to its carefully crafted trophies. Yet organized sporting activities weren't much of A topic for painters until the late 19th century at the Marmotan Museum. This show focuses on artwork from 1870 to 1930 as team sports, spectacular events, and individual feats all became a larger part of daily life and as a result of the art that depicted it. It was innovative in terms of subject matter because there's a distinction between professionals and amateurs were performing and enjoying themselves. And it's this joy, the joy of movement that you can see throughout the exhibition. At this point in history, increased leisure time for the working classes meant that sports were flourishing, venues for these events were being built, and the competitive element became codified with regulations and the establishment of leagues and prizes. Women started getting involved too, although they were still expected to maintain a certain idealised image while exerting themselves. They're playing in a very unrealistic way. If you look at their posture, but also at the outfits they're wearing, their hairstyles, these are very elegant young woman. So it's not realistic picture if you think about tennis players today. New practices and a thirst for victory came with a desire to surpass one's limits. That idea of optimising human performance informs this exhibition at Paris's Musee de Luxembourg. Match showcases the innovations in design that have pushed sports forward. The more technologically advanced a ball is, the lighter it is, the better it is to play with. You can make it, travel further, etc. So what's great here is that these iconic objects from the world of sports have been captured and improved thanks to progress in design. Looking back at those leaps and bounds in design also gives us a glimpse of the future of sport at a time when artificial intelligence could be pushing human bodies out of the race while technology shapes tomorrow's athletes and their disciplines. At the 2024 Paris Games, break dancing will achieve what no other dance has ever managed before, to become an Olympic sport. Bodies will be contorted, gravity defied and athletes will showcase head spins, windmills and freeze moves, all in the attempt to win a medal. Let's find out some more. The twist or the head spin? Two key break dancing moves that Danny Dan knows all too well. The 36 year old B boy from French Guiana has been breaking for over 20 years. As 2023 European Champion, he's now earned his ticket to represent France at the Olympics, where he's looking to make breaking history. That's the beauty of movement. It's about creating movements that aren't yet created, not in the books, not in the rules, and actually thinking that by creating something, I'm making breaking culture evolve, Evolving the culture and perspective of breaking, providing a new Olympic Ave. for urban sports and one which better reflects modern society. The Olympic Games have always been based on the progress of societies, on new sensations, and so break dancing is part of this new way of seeing the body in movement in the city. The Plus de la Concorde will host the men's and women's battles on August 9th and 10th. A total of 16 B boys and 16B girls will compete in spectacular jewels with the DJ laying down the rhythm, AKA Big Daddy. The dude is part of the breaking family. Every week he teaches his young pupils the basics. While he might not necessarily follow the Olympics when it comes around, he's nonetheless excited for the benefits it could bring. It gives us a chance to show off and put our discipline on the map, and that's cool. There's momentum. Now we can highlight one side of the culture battles, the competitive, somewhat sporty side of breaking, which is first and foremost a culture and an art. A culture that has a lot to offer the Olympic Games, too. In addition to being the most listened to musical genre in the world, hip hop could spawn a whole generation of champions. And that brings us to the end of this special Arts 24 show about the cultural side of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Thank you so much for joining us. We'll leave you now with some more images from the Olympiad special event. Follow all the news from the games in our new programme. Hello and welcome to Destination Paris. Different perspectives, reports, interviews with the athletes. So this is a very important part of the process. We've got to try avoid injuries as best as we can. We'll bring you all the preparations for this historic event. Don't miss Destination Paris on France 24, yeah?