Tags: Olympics, Paris 2024, running, track, field
By Lily Taylor
Alongside sporting talent, the Olympic Games also celebrates the arts and culture. The Equaliser has dived into the colourful and musical world of the Cultural Olympiad, to see what makes this event even more special.
In just over a month, athletes from all around the world will be gathering in Paris and getting ready to compete in arguably, the most celebrated global sporting event.
With millions of people watching, they will proudly represent their countries, with the hope of bringing home the Olympic golds, not to mention the title – ‘the best in the world’.
However the athletic events, although exciting, are not the only thing the Olympics represents; culture and music are also at the heart of the celebrations.
The ‘Cultural Olympiad’ is a programme of cultural events that are celebrated during the run up to the Olympic Games in the host country. Festivals, exhibitions, concerts and acts have been taking place in France for the last four years, and will continue to do so till the end of the Olympics.
The idea to intertwine the arts with sport dates back to Ancient Greece. However the ‘Cultural Olympiad’ was first thought of by the founder of the modern Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, in 1904.
This year continues to mix tradition with the 21st century. A combination of modern performances and the ancient arts as well as simultaneously, demonstrating all of France’s rich artistic talents and lifestyle.
L’Olimpiade de Vivaldi is a famous opera written by Antonio Vivaldi, set in the city of Olympia during the celebration of the Olympic Games and will take place at the Theatre des Champs Elysées in Paris.
The performance will maintain the essence of the opera but with a slight modern twist, starring Jakon Jozef Orlinski, countertenor opera singer and passionate… breakdancer.
Baptiste Charroing, director of the Théâtre des Champs Elysées says: “It is one of the most beautiful pages of Vivaldi where the musical writing knows how to take advantage, with joy, of the great variety of dramatic situations.
“Led by Vivaldian master Jean-Christophe Spinosi, we are delighted to find the athletic Jakub Józef Orliński, as comfortable in vocals as in break dancing.”
The new and original rendition of the opera will be enacted multiple times throughout June and is a perfect fit for what the Cultural Olympiad represents.
Mr Charroing says: “It is a great honour of course. We are very happy to be involved somehow in the Paris Olympic Games. This unique opportunity only happens once a century.
“Overall, music and culture play a key role in shaping the spirit and identity of the Olympics, fostering connections among people worldwide and celebrating the rich diversity of human expression.”
“Through music, dance, art and other cultural expressions, athletes and spectators can learn about and appreciate different traditions and ways of life,” he says.
The Cultural Olympiad gives people and groups the opportunity to submit ideas to showcase new talents in their programme.
‘La Troupe Musi’col’ is a group of performers that have put together a show called ‘Dans les starting blocks’, which will take place the 9th July.
They are a group of singers, musicians, dancers and actors, who range from 17 to 70 years old that aim to represent the diversity of their town.
Perrine Piketty, 50, is the founder and organiser of the group and will also be performing in the Olympiad.
“We presented our project so we could receive the label of the “Cultural Olympiad” and we are very excited. Our idea was to talk about the Olympic values which are very close to our troupe’s values. To be open to the world, to be diverse… we thought it would be a good theme to base our show on.
“The Cultural Olympiad story is going to be about a group of athletes that want to go to the Olympic games and all their adventures,” she says.
The performance will take place at the Bobino Theatre in Paris and it will feature ‘covers’ of modern songs that create a story.
Mrs Piketty says: “It’s not that easy to create a show with songs only about the Olympic Games so it is an opportunity to create. There are love songs, there are songs about effort, about victory, about disappointment… Everything you can feel when you participate in sports.”
A perfect balance between sport and music is represented in the performance “La vie Fantastique” featuring a collaboration between ‘Le Group Grenade’ dance school and the Philharmonie de Paris orchestra.
The Cultural Olympiad approached Josette Baiz, director and choreographer of the school, to create a routine and performance suitable for their programme.
Stephanie Soubra, Head of Communications of Le Group Grenade, says: “Josette decided to focus on the youngest dancers of the school. The youngest is 8 years old.”
“The soundtrack is made of very well known philharmonic pieces of very well known composers and it is a contemporary dance full of hope and emotion rather than narration,” she says.
The group’s next performance will be on 23rd June in the Paris Philharmonic. However, their inauguration was in Marseille.
“We welcomed the Olympic torch in Marseille where there were a lot of celebrations. La Vie Fantastique was presented in a ‘grand style’ in front of almost two thousand people,” Mrs Soubra says.
The Olympic torch relay this year has embarked on a ‘mega’ journey across the country, and will even be crossing the oceans to reach their overseas territories.
The Cultural Olympiad also includes solely cultural and artistic events, therefore not all of them need to be directly related to sport. For example, The “L’Archeologotobus”, which is a ‘theatre on wheels’, aims to educate and entertain audiences through music and comedy.
This show was performed by Justin Glae who is a lute player and Cesil Gallois who is a countenor singer.
Mr Glae says: “The whole project is a show exploring the countertenor voice and how it was used during the 17th and 18th century in Europe.”
“Because the bus is quite small we can play off the public’s reaction to make them part of the show. We have inserted jokes, music, colour and costumes to make it more interactive,” he says.
These events are just a few of the hundreds of projects involved in the Cultural Olympiad.
This artistic side to the Olympics proves the deep connection and history between sport and music as well as highlighting the core values they have in common- practice, performance and people.
The Olympic Games will begin on 26th July until the 11th August.
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