Unity, Inclusion and Love in Paris Olympics Opening

Celine Dion performed a heart rending version of Hymne à l’amour (HYMN TO LOVE) by Edith Piaf. Photo from:
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Written by

Jude Thaddeus Bautista

She was too high up in the Eiffel Tower too be recognized by the crowd below. But the voice was unmistakable, even if you can’t speak a word of French. The emotion pierces the heart. Celine Dion’s pitch perfect voice filled the air. Edith Piaf’s song Hymne à l’amour (HYMN TO LOVE), stirred our emotions. Especially the last stanza:

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Si un jour, la vie t’arrache à moi

Si tu meurs, que tu sois loin de moi

Peu m’importe si tu m’aimes

Car moi je mourrais aussi

Celine Dion underneath The Olympic Rings. Photo from:
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Those who love will live eternally

In the blue, where all is harmony

With my voice raised high to heaven

Just for you, I’ll sing a hymn to love

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The song expresses the theme from the city of Love, which is Paris. And the context of Celine Dion singing again. Being able to belt out the way she always has, had the whole world in tears. She’s been battling stiff person syndrome (SPS). A rare autoimmune neurological disease that has threatened her quality of life, let alone having her perform again.

Spectacular laser show on the Eiffel Tower during the Paris Olympics Opening.
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It was the perfect cap for the spectacle of the Olympic opening July 26, 2024. Looking down at the crowd of athletes and dignitaries assembled at the Trocadéro.

From Right: French President Emmanuel Macron with Olympic Committee Pres. Thomas Bach, during the Opening of the Paris Olympics July 26, 2024.
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Celine Dion looks down at people in the Trocadero from high up the Eiffel Tower. Photo from:
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Of course, Celine and Lady Gaga are the headlines. Lady Gaga having sung an energetic Mon Truc en Plumes (MY THING WITH FEATHERS) by Renée Jeanmaire. Gaga had transformed the bank of the Seine into a 1920s Cabaret. Complete with pink feathers a cadre of dancers, a brass band and grand piano. They were so close to the edge, the rushing waters of the river were just a few feet down.

Lady Gaga sang Mon Truc en Plumes (MY THING WITH FEATHERS) by Renée Jeanmaire.
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While many videos of Celine and Gaga songs have been posted online, I encourage everyone to watch the whole opening. They are mere crescendos to the whole song/story, which features the best that Paris and France have to offer. The whole gamut of music: from rap to rock and opera were all performed.

Lady Gag’s performance was at the edge of the Seine. Photo from:
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The video is posted in SMART Sports. You can also catch a lot of highlights especially those of Filipino athletes including games of USA Basketball in the One Sports YT channel.

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Many Firsts

There were a lot of firsts in Paris. One of them is doing away with the stadium altogether. Highlighting the landmarks of the city, the Notre Dame, Louvre, the many bridges: Debilly, Pont Royal Bridge, Pont Notre Dame, Pont d’lena. Even the garden where the ‘cauldron’ was lit, designed as a balloon that rose to the air visible to more people in the city. “A tribute to the first flight made in a hydrogen-filled gas balloon. It was done by two French inventors right there in the garden of the Tuileries in 1783,” said Mike Tirico in an NBC broadcast.

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When I first heard about it, I thought it was crazy. Seemed ambitious and impossible to pull off. A lot had depended on careful planning of the video coverage and the concept of being able to create a story through characters.

Olympic Cauldron designed as a tribute to the first flight made in a hydrogen-filled gas balloon. It was done by two French inventors right there in the garden of the Tuileries in 1783. Photo from:
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Connected to this, their decision to incorporate the ‘show’ in between the entry of the athletes. Previously there would be the show portion then the march separately. Here, you almost don’t know what’s coming next, from where. So the opening became even more compelling. Alternating the athletes on boats, that seemed like a party to stunts and sequences from said characters.

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More People Felt Part of it

The overall presentation was so successful that there is word that future Olympics will incorporate the firsts here in Paris. Instead of the population getting fleeced by scalpers for stadium seats more people got to be a part of the opening.

More people got to watch the opening of the Paris Olympics as opposed to a stadium.
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There were specific bridges and areas where seats and stands had been setup complete with LED screens. But as long as you have a window overlooking the Seine, you could see the march of the athletes. And a river decorated with plumes of water shooting to the sky to gigantic faces from artworks in the Louvre.

More people got to watch the opening of the Paris Olympics as opposed to a stadium.
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Different Kinds of Love

One of the early video sequences involved a multiracial love affair. A black man with a brunette, could have been Latin and Asian who may have been trans. Not only was one a part of LGBTQ+ but the scene may have been what the French call a Ménage à Trois. A sexual relationship between 3 people. NOT that they’re encouraging it but more a recognition that polyamorous relationships exists in the real world.

Multiracial Menagé Troi represents different kinds of love in Paris.
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Polyamory (from Ancient Greek πολύς (polús) ‘many’, and Latin amor ‘love’) is the practice of, or desire for, romantic relationships with more than one partner at the same time… Others prefer to restrict their sexual activity to only members of the group, a closed polyamorous relationship that is usually referred to as polyfidelity. From https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Polyamory

Multiracial Menagé Troi represents different kinds of love in Paris.
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All Ages & Groups

This is representation in the truest sense of the word. A majority may not be into it but nonetheless exists. Since this is the City of Love, they made a fantastic job of including different groups and kinds of relationships. That other places and nations do not have the courage to acknowledge.

Senior Citizens kiss passionately on the ramp on Debilly Bridge. People of all ages, shapes and sizes, show inclusion in the Paris Olympics Opening. Photo from:
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Two senior citizens featured prominently on a fashion show. A bald man in a skirt/dress, passionately kissed a senior woman in the middle of the ramp. She even embraced him with her legs, as he lifted her.

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(23) Inclusion from left: Amputees and Trans on the ramp.
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All ages and groups took part in the opening. Charles Coste, the oldest living Olympian at 100 years old was part of the Olympic Torch Relay. Coste won the gold medal as a cyclist in the team pursuit, 1948. Amputees were not only part of the ramp but were also dancers who performed. Showing that PWDs are capable of world class performances.

From left: Final torchbearers Teddy Riner and Marie-José Pérec receive the flame from Charles Coste. Photo from:
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Last Supper?

Unfortunately, the message of inclusion is one that is not embraced by all. Right wing extremists in France decried, what they believed to be a depiction of the Last Supper on the Debilly Bridge where the fashion show portion took place. They took offense that a female and overweight woman was portrayed as Christ during the Last Supper. They claim she was also surrounded by disciples portrayed by drag queens. A U.S. brand (C SPIRE) has pulled out ads in the Olympics in what they believed to be a mockery of Christians.

The head dress on the ‘so called Christ’ is worn by a woman and is reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty. Exemplifying France’s motto of Egalité, Liberté and Fraternité. Extremists have mistakenly assigned the scene as the Last Supper and criticized organizers and performers alike.
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Two main points here. First is Creative Director Thomas Jolly has stated “My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock. Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide. The idea was to do a big pagan party linked to the gods of Olympus” The immediate text flashed of Festivité bear this out. The head dress on the ‘so called Christ’ is worn by a woman and is reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty. Exemplifying France’s motto of Egalité, Liberté and Fraternité.

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Philippe Katerine, represented the Greek god of wine Dionysus hence the fruits that surrounds him. Mistakenly accused of representing Christ in the Last Supper by extremists. He performed his song NUE for peace in Gaza and Ukraine.
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Seeing Christ in Every Person

What is great about art is being able to take away your own interpretation of it. Beauty (or the message), in this case, is in the eye of the beholder. In my eyes I see a beautiful and yes, overweight woman, given a chance to shine in a choreography that can be viewed around the world. The woman is actually DJ Barbara Butch who was in front of the mixer. And happens to be an LGBTQ+ advocate.

Purists may take offense and say an overweight woman is replacing Christ in a recreation of the Last Supper. But even as a Christian can’t you see Christ in a plump woman? Or in ANY individual for that matter? Is that so wrong and offensive to you? Where are the Christian tenets of tolerance, acceptance and love? Or forgiveness for that matter? Instead of taking offense maybe they should ask themselves why they feel that way. They couldn’t see beyond their narrow views on beauty and their prejudices.

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EU colors shone on a barge at the Seine. Photo from:
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EU’s United In Diversity Motto

Underneath the Debilly Bridge, a barge floated with its floor lit with LED displays. Dancers were making their moves on the screen itself. Which began by showing the European Union’s unmistakable blue flag with yellow stars in the center. And on our TV screens flashed text ‘United In Diversity’ motto. Dozens of dancers, mostly black, brown, Asian, African descent and white moved in unison.

(33) EU Stars on the Eiffel Tower. Photo from:
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It’s one thing to espouse the motto and quite another to see it in action. And celebrate the richness of talent in the diversity of races in France. The context of the EU motto: “The peoples of Europe, while remaining proud of their own national identities and history, are determined to transcend their former divisions and, united ever more closely, to forge a common destiny.”

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Aya Nakamura, dressed by Dior, performed with the French Republican Guard.
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Clearly, from the extremists reactions to the opening, the elusive unity in diversity has not been achieved completely. Not in France or any society. But remains an ideal that we aspire to attain. This is an ongoing aspiration of humanity that is translated in the Olympic spirit. That eternal struggle for perfection beyond yourself.

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Axelle Saint-Cirel, expressed through her voice the riveting power of unity in diversity. She is the black/French mezzo-soprano from Guadeloupe, who sang a new arrangement of the French national anthem, La Marseillaise. Covered in red, white and blue on the glass rooftop of the Grand Palais.

Axelle Saint-Cirel sang a riveting, LA MARSEILLAISE, atop the Grand Palais.
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