Paris – Spectators return to the Olympics. Almost eight years after the closing ceremony of Rio-2016, on August 21 of that year, tens of thousands of people from around the world gathered again to watch an Olympic contest after the pandemic had left the stands of Tokyo-2020 deserted.
In men’s football, the clash between Spain and Uzbekistan caught the attention of the fans at Parque dos Príncipes at exactly 3 p.m. local time, 10 a.m. in Brasilia, when the kick-off whistle blew. It was the first sporting event of Paris 2024, two days before the official opening ceremony.
The celebration in the stands was lively. Both on the Spanish side, in greater numbers, and on the Uzbek side, more noisy. The Asians arrived in uniform, with different flags and songs and well-rehearsed choreographies. Several small groups were scattered around the stadium. The Spanish did not stay behind and pushed the current silvers to confirm their favoritism. There were greetings, shouts of joy and also of anguish, grunts of agony and sighs of emotion.
Healthy crowding
But the party started much earlier, with the fans moving to the Parc des Princes, the stadium of Paris Saint-Germain. People were already gathering – a word, by the way, banned during the pandemic – even in the train and metro stations of Paris. Carrying flags, banners, scarves, their smiling faces were painted. Women, men, children and elderly people speaking different languages. “We are very happy with the atmosphere. It brings people together without danger. The energy is very good, just at the beginning of the Olympics. We have to enjoy and celebrate together, calmly and peacefully, without risks to health or to people,” said Isa, from Madrid, Spain, as she calmly waited, with little Caroline, for her moment to enter the stadium.
Brazilians were also present when the public returned to the Olympic Games. “This atmosphere of the first post-pandemic game with the public is bringing an even more vibrant energy. It seems to have brought much more energy and excitement to the public. These Olympics will be very exciting in general,” said Tatiane Silveira, from Belo Horizonte and living in London who walked alongside Leo da Mata, also from Belo Horizonte and living in the English capital. “There are people from all over the world. We come from South Korea, Japan, Spain, France, several Brazilians. The wait is the integration of the world,” she added.
Damn silence
Bárbara, a resident of Seville, southern Spain, was with two friends wearing not only the flag of her country but also that of her hometown team Real Betis. “It’s very fun, very exciting. We’ve seen a lot of people, we’ve met Uzbek fans and we’re excited to see our team play,” she said. A few meters away, a group of Brazilians looked like they were about to enter the Mineirão, the Neo Química Arena or any other stadium in the country. “An empty stadium is a horrible, horrible silence. There’s no pleasure. The best thing is the audience,” said Sérgio, a fan of Corinthians, Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais.
Source: Terra
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