Why ‘comeback’ of the Olympics brand could be one of Paris 2024’s lasting legacies

New Delhi: A few weeks before the start of Paris Olympics, chances of the 2024 Games being deemed successful appeared remote. France was the midst of a political crisis, possibility of attacks was real and the general public appeared not to care too much.

On top of it, the International Olympic Committee desperately needed a positive impact as after COVID forced the last Summer Games and Tokyo on 2021 and Beijing Games in 2022 to be held under closed doors, eroding the patience of sponsors and broadcasters.

But after two weeks with the action coming to a close on Sunday with a closing ceremony at the Stade de France, the general review of the Games has largely been a positive one in the international community, to the relief of the IOC and France President Emmanuel Macron.

Recent events in Paris has been marred by trouble, most notably the 2022 Uefa Champions League final, but no such untoward incident happened during the Games.

“France surprised people. It worked beyond anyone’s wildest dreams,” former IOC marketing chief Michael Payne was quoted as saying by Reuters.

No white elephants

An unwanted legacy of most Olympics in recent times has been the creation of white elephants – be it stadiums or infrastructure.

Paris 2024 has avoided it by conducting events at temporary stadiums close to the city’s most famous landmarks. It helped the venues turned into open air playground where everyone could join in, even without a ticket while the Games Village would be turned into a residential complex in one of the poorest neighbourhoods of the Paris city.

As the sun came out, spectators took their position beside the Seine river to watch the swimmers while as the light faded people snapped photos of the glowing Olympic cauldron at Tuileries Garden that adorned the city’s skyline, with talks of it becoming a permanent feature gaining momentum.

No political scandal

While perennial geopolitical issues once threatened to hog the headlines, it was largely kept at bay with focus on the action on the sporting venues and the achievements of players rather than typical political bickering.

It showed the way for potential host cities too and could ignite greater increase in placing bids to organise the Games, with Turkey and India eyeing to host in 2036.

“They have done a spectacular job,” Los Angeles 2028 CEO Casey Wasserman was quoted as saying by Reuters.

“The experience in the venues, which is what this is all about for the athletes and the fans, is world class.”

Happy broadcasters and sponsors

With the return of spectators and with high general attendance of events, broadcasters and sponsors have flashed broad smiles.

NBC Universal enjoyed its highest US audience since 2012, with average total viewership increasing up to 77 per cent from Tokyo 2020, also helping the channel to collect record ad sales.

Warner Bros. Discovery said its streaming numbers for the opening two days were more than the entire Tokyo Games. Olympic sponsor Airbnb enjoyed its biggest ever numbers for accommodating in and around Paris

“There is a kind of magic that happened,” the company’s regional director for EMEA Emmanuel Marill told Reuters.

A 300 per cent spike in searches for brands in comparison to Tokyo during the opening ceremony turned Paris 2024 into a “comeback Olympics” for advertisers, observed chief marketing officer of brand strategy firm Siegel+Gale Dory Ellis Garfinkle.

Appealing to newer generation

The IOC has maintained that in order to attract the social-media driven younger generation, the Olympic brand needs to be relevant as it has struggled in that endeavour in recent times, not being able to justify billions of dollars worth TV and sponsorship deals.

The IOC added four sports associated with young people in Paris 2024 to make it more engaging for the new generation with breaking making its Olympic debut and sport climbing, skateboarding, and surfing keeping its place from Tokyo.

The IOC is keen to add more sporting disciplines with cricket making a return in LA 2028.

Paris 2024 not faultless

Though not militant attack happened, as was once feared, the chaos at the start of the Games showed it could have been much worse.

Rail and telecom networks were breached, residents in Seine-Saint-Denis where the Games Village was located complained that they were left out of being a part of the fun.

Transport and food to far-off venues like the Chateauroux Shooting Centre were insufficient, leading to questions being raised.

The French food based on organic and locally made cheese was not gobbled up by athletes who wanted more of meat. Adding to the list of controversies was the parody of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” that upset Christians worldwide.

Perhaps the biggest sweat might have been the unfit condition of the Seine river despite spending 1.5 billion euros ($1.64 billion) to make it swimmable.

Sewage water seeped into the river due to rain, contaminating the water which made some swimmers sick and forced postponement of practice and events. Ultimately the water was passed fit but question marks lingered

Onus on LA 2028

As Paris closes with a largely successful look, the onus is now on Los Angeles to raise the bar higher in 2028. They have already been warned that mere copying what Paris did right could have disastrous consequences.

IOC president Thomas Bach has emphasized the need for LA to have its uniqueness while hosting the Games, promoting the American culture.

“If LA would like to copy the Eiffel Tower, it would be a recipe for disaster,” Bach has said, as quoted by Reuters.

“Each Olympic Games has to be authentic, has to be creative, has to show the culture of the host country.”

Los Angeles’ mayor Karen Bass has already accepted that the city faces the issue of homeless people but pins hopes on Hollywood to cover up all challenges.

“We do have Hollywood, so I expect a lot of magical opportunities,” Bass told Reuters.

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