The closing ceremony was as hideous as the opening. A chaos within the Stade de France with 5000 athletes. Some drunk, some stoned. Didn’t matter, the country flags were far away from the teams. A mega Orchestra played but only 1 violin and the triangle were audible.

Another cheap copy of Edith Piaf was brought on stage. Luckily Edith did not have to hear this. In my Paris time, I used to take my lunch sandwich on to Père Lachaise and sat on a bench next Piaf’s grave. Talking to here. Lovely woman, she never argued.

Next on was a talentless local pop group! And when you have no singers, you book rappers. Or an unknown (for me) French singer called Yseult. She half-swallowed “My Way” An assault on Sinatra or composer Paul Anka.

In the middle of this dramatically bad organised stadium party, my partner and I decided to go for a late Spanish supper.

When we came back home 2 hrs later, the drama was still ongoing. Now the real stars were on: the IOC officials and  the French president. I thought he had been kicked out of office by Marie Le Penn? But that was obviously Wishful Thinking. Or I started to develop an Olympic trauma.

In the meantime Paris 2024 was handing over to LA28. And who welcomed the Olympic business on a Californië beach? 2 overaged U.S. rappers. Oh my Lord, do we get the same all over in 4 yrs?

But 1st the Para Olympic Troopers took over. In a wheelchair parade. In the meantime I was on my 2nd bottle of Cavas so I couldn’t care a sh..t. I worked 16 years among the French so I should have known what to expect!

Now to the good side of Paris 2024. Forgotten was the Corona masked dramatic opera from Tokyo. Where athletes kissed each other covered with painting masks and wearing plastic gloves. I still can’t believe that they found so many eager athletes to participate. But as the Tokyo Corona show was postponed, the athletes had to train an extra year. Maybe that scrambled their brains. Or were they just hungry for sex in the Olympic village. Which could be tricky. Male athletes never knew if they screwed a girl or a rebuild man! Or was the Sushi more pallible than the undercooked (bleu) steaks in Paris?

As an ExPat I have very little nationalistic feelings. But somehow I got aroused when Dutch athletes or swimmers were standing on the podium. I’m 80+ so the Dutch hockey girls in mini skirts are a dangerous excitement for me. And so the nervy shoot out for the gold medal. I survived.

No longer restricted by the Corona lie from Tokyo, fans filled the Paris stadiums. Not only in Paris. For example the sailing events were in Marseille. Now the Med is not famous for strong winds, so sometimes the sailors had to paddle to the finish. Why not sailing in the Atlantic? Or would Normandy bring bad memories for the Germans?

The Dutch team colour has always been Orange. In Paris that colour was very popular. So I sometimes I screamed for the wrong countries. Japan and Germany used orange outfits. Foreign Cyclists were wearing orange helmets. And 90% of the athletes wore Nike Orange running shoes. Called ELECTRIC. Did they charge them overnight?

To stay up-to-date I in the end followed the official IOC app with the medal ranking.

And to my big surprise (and a smurf on my face) I found that my tiny “kikkerlandje” was nr 6 at the official list for gold medals. In front of GB, Korea and: Neighbour Germany.

I also learned new sports. Wall Climbing, 4×400 mix. Girls chasing Boys. 3×3 basket ball. 1 basket only and half a pitch. Saving money? Too late. The IOC officials spent 12 million€ for hotel accommodation, plus expenses. Still, the Parisian restaurant owners were moaning. But some had tripled the prices. Not in my Magots though. A petit vin blanc, 3,50 in 1979, now 8,50. People forget that you’re drinking in the most expensive area in Paris. So I’ll be back in St.Germain bientót.

I decided that sports played by millionaires, should not be at the games. Golf, Football and Tennis! OUT! Oh, the pinnacle of what they now called sports: BREAK DANCING. Give me a break!!!

I now can relax and wait for the the start of the football season. At least, there won’t be an Opening Ceremony.

I missed Tom Cruise fooling around with the Olympic torch. Hope he didn’t burn himself.

Theo R.