Last November, at We Are French Touch , Dominique Hervieu began his presentation by declaring that " the history of the Olympic Games and artists is a long, deep, and very rich one ." While the Olympic and Paralympic Games will obviously be an opportunity to admire and celebrate the values ​​of sport and athletic performance in the coming weeks, we are also witnessing the unfolding of a splendid cultural Olympiad, spearheaded by all French cultural and creative industries for several months now, and with momentum that continues.

The distant origins of the link between Olympic Games and artists

Speaking into the microphone on the Plein Cadre stage, Dominique Hervieu emphasized that the intertwining of the Olympic Games and the arts began in Olympia, Greece, where sporting competitions were already being held 3,000 years ago, before gradually taking the form we know today. According to Hervieu, " From that time in Antiquity, the search was on for a balance between sport and the arts, between the athlete and the cultured individual. It is the fusion of body and mind, beauty and virtue, aesthetics and the physical exertion of one's body, that creates this perfect being ." The values ​​and aspirations of sport and the arts have always been closely linked; athletes have always inspired artists, and vice versa.

The place of culture and the arts in the invention of the modern Games

Dominique Hervieu continued by recalling Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, the first edition of which took place in 1896, and his desire to preserve the place of arts and culture within the sporting event. The former president of the International Olympic Committee conceived the idea of ​​the Pentathlon of the Muses: " alongside the sporting events, there were artistic competitions: sculpture, painting, literature, music, and architecture ," explained the head of the Cultural Olympiad. These parallel competitions took place from 1912 to 1948. For Dominique Hervieu, even though the Pentathlon of the Muses no longer exists, today's Olympic Games still rely on this very rich heritage, which involves the presence of the arts within the event: " The cultural Olympiad that I direct inherits this desire to have a sporting event that expands, becomes more complex, and is enriched by the presence of artists ," she affirms.

Paris 2024, an essential sporting event, an unmissable cultural event

A fertile ground for a multidisciplinary cultural and artistic program linked to Paris 2024, in which no one is left out: for Dominique Hervieu, the Olympic Games are an opportunity to showcase the richness and diversity of French creativity to the world , from comics to opera and design. And it's safe to say that between the director's intervention last November and the preliminary assessment we can make today, this fertile ground has allowed memorable initiatives to take root. Across all disciplines and fields, synergies have been created, talents have been expressed, French creativity has set the pace, and this will continue in the coming weeks, like a grand passing of the torch. She mentions the exhibitions highlighting sport and the collaborations with the Louvre Museum, the Centre Pompidou, the Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac Museum, the Musée d'Orsay… and examples abound in all sectors of the cultural and creative industries. To name just a few examples, there was the design of the Olympic torch by Mathieu Lehanneur , the Great Games Dictation on the Champ-de-Mars by Augustin Trapenard and Rachid Santaki, the one-man show by biathlon champion Martin Fourcade, the Apache dance performance at the Opéra Garnier by choreographer Saïdo Lehlouh, the fireworks display celebrating the Games created by Groupe F, the creation of the French delegation's outfits by Berluti, the opening ceremony with director Thomas Jolly at the helm… sport embraced the arts, showcased French creativity to the world, and followed a principle established by Dominique Hervieu: “ to create a dialogue between sports and the Olympic and Paralympic values ​​of friendship, sharing, excellence, and inclusion, in their universal dimension, to bring together worlds that are not always used to meeting .”

205 countries, one capital, superb cultural influence and great chances of medals: the time of excellence and freedom of creation, of surpassing oneself and the discovery of other sensitivities. The French Touch wishes you a great Olympic Games!