Paris Olympic Happy Hour: ‘The Most Unique Olympic Cauldron We May Have Ever Seen’

DeAnn Long Sloan, Comments Off on Paris Olympic Happy Hour: ‘The Most Unique Olympic Cauldron We May Have Ever Seen’
Every day during the Olympics, we’ll be bringing you the day’s headlines in a pint-sized format: pour yourself a cold one and catch up on the day’s big equestrian stories.

Cheers, Horse Nation! Each evening we’ll be pulling together the day’s top equestrian stories from Paris in one easy-to-read summary format: think of us as your favorite sports bar rather than the long bar crawl from site to site to catch all the day’s equestrian news.

That said, today’s Happy Hour will be a bit different since we’re discussing the Opening Ceremonies (so, fewer horses, more other things… for now).

The Opening Ceremonies began at 7:30 PM Central European Time, and I have to admit, I was left wondering, “What exactly is going on here?” However, I think that was sort of the point at the beginning, but the puzzle did (somewhat) go together, piece-by-piece. Each piece was a section that had ties to important aspects of French history and culture.

This year’s OC didn’t have the initial wow factor that some of the others have had (I am probably thinking specifically of the 2008 synchronized drummers in Beijing — if you missed that, you can catch it here), but it was theatrical, paid homage to French history and culture (as well as to the French Olympic legacy), and was thoughtful about the message it was sending… even if it got a bit… well, weird.

Let me be clear. I don’t mean weird in a bad way. It was original. The OC began with Ça ira, the title of a popular song during the French Revolution, which roughly translates to “It will be okay.” From there, other portions of the OC were Synchronicité, Liberté, Egalité, and Solidarité (more on this last one in a minute). Each portion gave plenty of due diligence to history and culture, and I’m particularly fond of the statues of the women of significance rising out of the Seine (here’s lookin at you, Simone de Beuvoir). But there were quite a few liberties taken when it came to historical representations. I mean, there was a beheaded Marie Antoinette rocking out to a heavy metal rendition of “Ah, ça ira” …  that’s pretty weird.

Cool, but weird.

The OC also made a point to underscore Paris’s reputation as the City of Love — and left more than one viewer clutching their pearls (or so I assume). During the Liberté portion of the opening ceremonies, a variety of affectionate relationships were shown — including a polyamorous one that found some privacy in the Reading Room at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

I’m guessing this came as a bit of a shock to some of the primetime viewers (eh, it’s good for them).

One of the major highlights for me was that the bells of Notre Dame were rung for the first time since the 2019 fire. Folks, this is lit! (Sorry, bad pun…)

Even as I was multi-tasking and watching the OC amidst the routine of my day, that one struck me. I stopped and took note of how awesome it was.

 

Another highlight (clearly) is the portion that most equestrians appreciate… There WERE, in fact, horses in the Opening Ceremonies. That’s right, as the word Solidarité (solidarity) appeared, so, too, did a horse woman.

This mechanical horse galloping along the Seine was pretty damned cool. And so was the message. The horsewoman was Gendarmerie noncommissioned officer Floriane Issert, and the intent was to have her be “the representation of the Olympic spirit and of Sequana.” She and her steed — which eventually morphed into an actual grey horse, flanked by two chestnuts — passed under successive bridges as dove wings unfurled, symbolizing a message of peace.

When the metal horse turned into a real horse, I was left wondering how on earth the three horses were so chill. That was quite the environment, and those horses handled it like freaking pros (which I’m sure they are… I’m just still impressed).

Another high point for me was the French Olympians carrying the torch as they headed toward what Peyton Manning called, “the most unique Olympic Cauldron we may have ever seen.” Not the least of which was the oldest living French Olympic champion, Charles Coste:

What a rad way to pay tribute to the Olympic legacy.

There was so much to like about these Opening Ceremonies, but I can’t help feeling that they fell a little flat. From the pouring down rain (that can’t be helped) to the Olympic flag being hoisted upsidedown (whoops), to some of the more out-there historical depictions, I was left scratching my head for much of the OC. And not being there in person, I couldn’t help but wonder how the theatrics that were spread across Paris played out for those at the actual event. I assume they were left watching most of it on a large screen, which probably would have gotten old in the rain.

That said, once the happenings were actually at the Eiffel Tower, it must have been amazing to see. And there’s no doubt that the cauldron itself was pretty incredible.