Please, Paris, bring back the romance of 1924 Olympics… we need it

Many commentators – including plenty in the UK – are willing the Paris 2024 Olympics to fail. 

They come during a period of absolute chaos in France. The nation’s parliament is deadlocked as lame-duck President Emmanuel Macron faces anger from all sections of society. 

There is a debt crisis, the cost of living is rocketing, and the sporting extravaganza is already being linked to greed, corruption and international security threats. 

There are suggestions there will be more rats and bed bugs in the French capital than athletes or tourists, and that the only real gold medal winners will be Russian hackers or those profiting from the extortionately priced hospitality packages. 

It is certainly easy to be miserable about what is meant to be the greatest sporting show on Earth, but the doom-mongers need to look back to the last Paris Olympics to understand what they are really all about.

Read more: Why do they speak French at every Olympic opening ceremony?

The romance of the 1924 Paris Olympics

Exactly 100 years ago – in 1924 – a fractured, economically imperilled world united in the City of Light for one of the most deliciously romantic Olympics ever. 

Nevermind that competitors from a leading western power, Germany, were banned because of the recent World War, or that extremists from both Left and Right were plotting violent revolutions that would lead to even more devastating conflict. 

These were the Années folles – the crazy years – and Parisians wanted joy, laughter, and epic stories. Most of all, they sought distraction from the horror of real life, and this is exactly what great sport was able to provide. 

Chariots of Fire and Tarzan

The original Paris ’24 saw Johnny Weissmuller – an impoverished Austro-Hungarian immigrant to America – turn into the first swimming superstar at the age of 20. Weissmuller broke the 100m freestyle world record – completing the distance in 58.6 seconds – and won three golds in all. 

Then he became the original and best movie Tarzan – his King of the Jungle yell was so distinctive that even Edgar Rice Burroughs, the fictional character’s creator, praised him. 

Paris ’24 was also all about Eric Liddell, the 22-year-old Scottish runner who refused to compete in his favoured 100m sprint because he was a devout Christian, and the heats were on a Sunday. 

Instead, Liddell entered the 400m race and won – a triumph that was depicted in the brilliant 1981 film Chariots of Fire. 

French additions to the Games included a doubling of the number of women taking part – 135 compared to 64 in Antwerp four years earlier – and the building of the first Olympic Village.

It was also the first Olympics to be broadcast live into the homes of millions around the world. Radio Paris was the station to tune into in France, while the BBC summarised every day’s events across the Channel in Britain.

Meanwhile, the huge, cosmopolitan crowds that had gathered in Paris exported the very best of the Années folles back to their own countries when the Games were over. 

Cultural advances included the development of café society, artistic movements such as Surrealism, Gallic jazz and cabaret, Left Bank cinema and theatre, and plenty of other sporting clas- sics, including the Tour de France cycling.

It all added up to a universal expression of humanity at its very best – a sensational feeling that the misery and pessimism could be put to one side, allowing joy and optimism to prevail.

Nobody knows if there will be a new Johnny Weissmuller or Eric Liddell making their mark on Paris 2024, or indeed the Paralympics just a few weeks later, but the only way to find out is to watch and enjoy every second of the action. 

There will be breathtaking spectacles, intense competition and – most of all – the chance for a few remarkable individuals to help us forget the chaos, even if only briefly.