Paris 2024: One of the Most Controversial Olympics Ever?
“The organisation of this years’ games has brought into light the question of how sports, politics and human rights intersect”
Amira Berdouk, BA Korean & Emilia Williams-Valbuena, MA Art History and Archaeology 28/10/2024
The 2024 Paris Olympic Games have left their mark on the summer of 2024, albeit positive or negative. Is this sacred sporting tradition going to last? The cultural significance of the Olympics is undeniable, with participation being a historical feat in any athlete’s career. However, the organisation of this year’s games has brought many ethical qualms to light, further begging the question of how sports, politics, and human rights intersect, and what these crossovers mean for the future of the Olympics.
What may have been the first of a brood of controversies to accompany the Paris Olympics was the choice of location: the Seine. A parade of mismatching boats; some seemingly packed to over-capacity and others holding only a few passengers. The Seine not only served as the host of the opening ceremony but also had its moment of infamy when sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra kept her promise to swim in the Seine before games began, taking a dive into the river and sparking a wave of online memes. Unsurprising to most Parisians, the men’s triathlon was postponed during the Games due to high levels of pollution. Various triathletes even fell ill after swimming in the Seine.
On a graver note, a chorus of ‘boo’s accompanied Israel’s appearance on the Seine. After months of Israel’s still-escalating genocide in Gaza, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) may be playing a game of favourites. Whilst the Russian and Belarussian athletes were banned from participating due to the Russo-Ukrainian war, Israel’s Olympic delegates sailed the Seine in their own boat.
Algeria, one of the host country’s many former colonies, appeared on screen waving red roses in a bittersweet mark of remembrance. A conveniently quiet public pushback against the Games’ location on the Seine finds its roots in the 1961 Paris Massacre which saw over 100 Algerians murdered by the French police during protests for independence. Many bodies of the killed Algerians were thrown into the Seine during the massacre. The IOC’s determination to hold the Games in the Seine not only poses health concerns but a troubling disrespect to the victims and martyrs of France’s dark colonial past.
Additionally, the case of the gold medal winning Algerian welterweight (66 kg) boxer Imane Khelif was a source of significant controversy. Following Khelif’s 46-second victory against Italy’s Angela Carini, social media posts questioning the Algerian’s eligibility to compete as a woman with DSDs began to rapidly circulate.
This discourse appears to largely be rooted in the International Boxing Association (IBA)’s decision to disqualify Khelif from the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship in 2023, a result of claims that Khelif’s medical testing revealed an unfair, but natural, advantage over other female competitors. However, the IOC have consistently maintained that they consider Khelif to be fully eligible to compete within the women’s Olympic boxing category, and disregarded the IBA’s earlier ruling due to a lack of sufficient evidence.
Another highly publicised controversy surrounding the Paris 2024 Games centred around the lack of accessible public transport options available to disabled athletes and fans. Though a significant push to improve the accessibility of the city’s buses was undertaken, many disabled people took to social media to express their frustration at the inaccessibility of the Paris Metro. APF France Handicap, a leading French charity advocating for the rights of disabled people, also echoed these concerns and stressed the unacceptability of the situation.
However, it appears that press coverage of the Paralympics has successfully increased awareness of the inaccessibility of the city’s transportation system, potentially contributing to the President of the Île-de-France Region, Valérie Pécresse’s decision to announce plans to undertake a major infrastructure project to improve the accessibility.
International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons stated in a recent interview, “It will be incredible if the metro can be made accessible as a legacy of these games”. However, it is important to acknowledge that such costly infrastructure upgrades are not likely to be completed within the next decade, leaving many disabled Parisians to continue to struggle with limited transport options.
Increased accessibility would ensure a better experience for not only anyone visiting the city for the Games, but also the residents. However, the Olympics may not be the catalyst for positive change. With only one more host country lined up for Los Angeles 2028, it seems countries have been deterred from hosting due to the immense cost. The 2004 Athens Games are said to be one of the major causes of the 2009 Greek financial crisis. France reached even further into Olympic funders’ pockets for an estimated €8.9 billion. Is the cultural significance of the Olympics worth the collapse of another nation’s economy?
