Paris 2024 Olympic Games: The journey of an Olympic spectator

Just as every Olympian has a story, every spectator has one, too.

Just like an athlete, our journeys aren’t linear and are full of twists and turns, and plot twists. As an American who has called Paris home for 15 years, I didn’t know where my Olympic dreams would take me. I was hesitant to get too excited and wondered whether I could even afford it. Yet I knew it was something I was curious to experience.

And I soon unexpectedly got pulled into the Olympic spirit that is hard to resist. After all, when Paris brings the Games to your doorstep, you can't help but notice.

As a kid growing up in Kansas I never considered myself sporty, but I played all the sports (softball, basketball) because my friends did. We cared more about having fun than winning. But swimming was always MY thing. (I’m a Pisces after all.) And I remember enjoying the Olympics on TV growing up so much that I bought a brick for the Olympic Park in Atlanta.

Paris 2024 Olympic journey begins

My true Paris 2024 Olympic journey started in late June when I happened to swim at a Paris public pool on the day they were doing time trials for an “Olympiade des Arrondissements.” Two weeks later I was invited to an informal ceremony where I learned I won gold for my age group for my district, received a gold medal, flowers and the opportunity to swim in the city-wide meet the following weekend.

I’d taken a break from swimming because my shoulder had been bothering me this year, yet this whole experience reminded me how much I not only loved swimming, but how much I loved competing. (I hadn’t seen the competitive side of myself for a long time. In summer swim team I’d get a certain joy from beating the boys.)

In all my years of swimming, this was the most official swim meet I’d ever been a part of and my first time racing 50m meters without a flip turn and using a trackpad.

The whole thing helped me get Olympic fever, and I had fans cheering me on through my Instagram posts, and I had friends who came and cheered me on which doesn’t always happen in adulthood. They were just as excited as I was that I got on the medal podium, where I received silver to match my hair. (Pas mal for a girl who has swam a handful of times in the past six months.)

There I encountered my first French Olympian and former world record holder in the 50 free, Alain Bernard, as he was part of my medal award ceremony. Imagine my delight when I recognized him as one of the final torchbearers en route to the hot air balloon cauldron at the Opening Ceremony.

Two days after my swim race the torch relay went through my neighborhood, literally three blocks away. (This was the same route the men’s and women’s road cycling would take for three loops through Montmartre.)

I wandered down to Moulin Rouge and not only did I get to see the Olympic Torch Relay, I got to see Moulin Rouge cancan dancers. The relay that put the torch in the hands of so many different people and in the path of so many spectators throughout France definitely was a pivotal moment for many of us to make the Olympic Games real.

Sharing Olympic joy, Olympic fever

When it came to the actual Olympic events, I waited until less than three months before kick-off to purchase any tickets. I always knew my strategy was to see more events rather than to buy one big-money ticket. This strategy paid off handsomely as I’d look for tickets each Thursday when they were released, and discovered reduced visibility seats.

This allowed me to purchase nine events for the two weeks (I capped my budget at 500€) for a wide range of events, which later expanded to 14 events thanks to a few unexpected gifted tickets, last-minute invites from friends, and the events free for all to see. Being an Olympic goer became a full-time job before I knew it!

Part of the joy of the Olympics is sharing it with others. I bought two tickets and invited a different friend to each event, or rather, they self-selected, depending on their availability. Who knew the Olympics would be the best excuse to catch up with friends? (And Paris is such a small world that multiple times I knew other people in the stands as well.)

Most of the time neither of us were experts in the sport, instead, learning as we went. It became a bonding experience triangulating between what was before our eyes, what was on screen, the Olympics app, Google searches, and sometimes asking the people around us.

We were often left with even more questions. We were now invested. Who knew I’d be such a fan of table tennis, checking back to see if the French brothers would make it through in the team event after we saw them qualify? (They did, they got bronze. I may have cheered at my phone!).

I never imagined seeing so many French fans get into all the sports. Every time France competed during these games, it was truly electric in the crowds. So many French flags along with Allez les Bleus chants to cheer on the team. Let’s Go! At times the chants even got adapted to Allez Fe-lix! to cheer on 17-year-old French table tennis bronze medallist Felix Lebrun. I’ve never seen such pride out of my adoptive country.

It was fascinating too to see how fast events moved. Diving had six rounds of someone diving every 45 seconds—yes, I timed it! For the artistic gymnastics team competition, everything was done within 2.5 hours, including the medal ceremony. I’ve never experienced such efficiency in all my years in France! The Olympics are here to show us what is possible.

The Olympic Games make friends of everyone

Everyone has a story, and you never know whom you might meet in line. My first unexpected encounter was with the Aussie swim fans behind me in the queue to enter La Defense Arena. I soon learned they were the parents of one of the women who won gold a few hours later in the 4x100m freestyle relay. My alma mater, the University of Virginia, was also well-represented in the pool this year, adding to the excitement.

At rowing, I reconnected with my former teammate from University of Virginia (and the first gold medallist I ever knew personally), who to my delight this year was back to coach the USA men’s pair on the day I happened to be gifted tickets.

By a wild twist of fate, at artistic gymnastics I was seated in front of US gymnast Jordan Chiles’ parents during the women’s team competition. It was very convenient for picking up tidbits about the level of difficulty and execution. Little did I know it would also be the debut of my head on NBC! Friends screamed when they spotted me on TV. This ticket was an invitation from someone I met at my book event I hosted in July, further exemplifying how you never know how things may unfold in life. Also, even if you can’t hear it people are cheering you on on the other side of the world!

In the queue for artistic swimming, we started up a conversation with the person who turned out to be the strength and conditioning trainer for Team USA. This conversation started because of his socks (one sock was blue with white stars, and the other was red and white stripes). We got a quick briefing on the sport, and then had seats in front of American athlete Megumi Fields’s fan club of friends who had oversized cutouts of her head and fabulously Olympic painted nails. These human encounters made it even more exciting to cheer on the silver medal-winning US team.

Another night I took myself to a local bistro for a beer and to watch the games on a big screen. I ended up striking up a conversation with the table next to me thinking they were American, and I showed them a new Instagram post of Snoop Dogg’s latest antics. Lo and behold, they were actually from Bermuda and had watched their sister swim in the triathlon that morning. I looked her up later. This was her fourth Olympics, and she won gold in Tokyo.

I was always the “quiet one” growing up, so the Olympics were a powerful reminder to me that we all can connect with others around a shared experience. When you’re at the Olympics you know everyone is there for the same thing. We all have stories whether we’re super fans or complete debutants for the sport.

Beach volleyball probably was the most successful at making us feel like we were part of something bigger, and this doesn’t even have to do with having an iconic view of the Eiffel Tower from our seats.

Like several of the venues, there was a DJ, dance cam, a “cancan cam” with overlay legs, but here they really warmed up the crowd. We had cheers to learn. My personal favorite was for the monster block which went like this, “Monster block. Monster block. Monster. Monster. Monster block” all while raising our hands. While you all were watching replays on TV, this is what kept us feeling like we were at the best party in town.

As a designer by trade, I noticed the use of color in all of the venues (the lilac track for athletics, purple for taekwondo in the historically stunning Grand Palais, blues for the aquatic events, and teal for table tennis). Before long you realize your own anthem for life is Gala’s “Freed From Desire” na na na na na na that was played at nearly every venue, and medal ceremony “Parade” by Victor le Masne is the music you want to celebrate everything in your life with. Music and the buzz of the spectators were just as much a part of the design. The intentional choices by the designers of the games stick with us as fans.

A necessary joy

It only makes sense that the term “collective effervescence” has a French origin, coined by Emile Durkheim over a century ago. It’s the joie de vivre and feeling of harmony and energy of people gathering with a shared purpose. It was something that organizational psychologist Adam Grant wrote about in the NYTimes after the pandemic to describe the joy we’ve all been missing.

While not everyone can experience the monster block chants or rumbling of feet on the bleachers that sound like a storm coming in in the actual venue, my Paris Olympic experience reminded me that when we watch the world, or gather with friends to watch at home or a bar, we can still feel part of something bigger than us. That collective effervescence is what the world needs right now.

Paris 2024 found a way to unite the collective and unleash the joy within us all, even managing to convert the skeptics. They truly showed us there was another way. It felt like nothing short of magic. There was a feeling here that I’ve never felt before, and it was sustained for two weeks. Even the Closing Ceremony reminded us of the power of doing things “My Way” through French singer Yseult’s rendition. Paris was not afraid of going big and embracing what the city has to offer. Doing things our way is a lesson we can all take forward.

If you’re feeling like you missed out, rest assured, the TV experience has its perks too. Also, it’s not too late. The Paralympics run 28 August through 8 September.

In the meantime, I’m ready for some sleep. Being an Olympic spectator is very fun, but it’s also exhausting. I can’t even imagine how the athletes feel coming down from it all. Alas, we have beautiful memories to return to. That feeling will always be within us.

Anne S. Ditmeyer is an American designer turned creative coach, workshop facilitator, and writer based in Paris, France. She is the author of OVERRIDE! What if there was another way? A pocket playbook for possibility. You can follow her at @pretavoyager on Instagram, and discover her work at anneditmeyer.com**.