Imagine being part of the celebrations at Marine Drive after Rohit Sharma and the boys returned home victorious from Barbados!
Likewise, imagine the opportunity to celebrate Leo Messi and Argentina’s historic win at Qatar 2022 once they landed back in Buenos Aires?
That is what the grand and generous vision of the Champions Park in Paris is all about, but with a twist.
Here, global fans are celebrating not just one sport and their respective nations, but congregating to celebrate sporting excellence and human achievements across multiple sports with medal winners from different events and nations.
Athletes are at the heart of the Olympic Games, but they wouldn’t have made it this far without their families and friends and the euphoric support and love of fans. This is what makes sports commercially viable.
The Champions Park is a platform to celebrate this golden trifecta of athletes, families and their fans with the iconic Eiffel Tower as the backdrop.
Every other day, nearly 13,000 fans get to walk in for free on a first-come-first-serve basis and they get an opportunity to see their favourite athletes parade with their loot of medals; groove to some contemporary music played by celebrity DJs and even enjoy a good dance in the grand, open park.
The organisers have hosted the Champions Park strategically in the Gardens of the Trocadero, which is in the heart of the city and hence rather accessible.
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One can experience the grandeur of the city of Paris by walking around the vicinity of Trocadero, as it is surrounded by the Palais de Challiot, Pont d’lena, the river Siene, Place de Varsovie and the majestic Eiffel Tower.
To augment the aura of the celebrations at the Champions Park, the organisers have invited sporting legends to be at the venue, including Serena Williams, the GOAT of tennis, the Kiwi Rugby legend, Dan Carter, and Romania’s all-time great gymnast, Nadia Comaneci.
The idea to officially provide for a space for athletes and fans to get together is a novel one and a great gesture, as the athletes can celebrate their success whilst fans can feel that they are part of their success and vicariously live off their glory and seek inspiration from their heroes to strive to be faster, higher and stronger!
And that it is happening during the Games and is open to one and all, is a testimony to Paris’s ambition and desire to bring us all ‘together’ as part of the Games.
Hosting it within the realms of its urban centre is part of the overarching strategy of making the Games inclusive and leveraging existing infrastructure than creating new spaces that run the risk of being ghost towns once the Olympics are concluded.
Beyond the celebrations and grandeur, my visit to the Champions Parks last evening reminded me about the triumph of humanity. Just three years ago, we were all unified in our collective struggle against the pandemic and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was held amidst empty stands and here I was standing amongst athletes, celebrities, families and fans celebrating human excellence and endurance!
The last time the city hosted the Summer Olympics a century ago, they kick-started the tradition of a closing ceremony, one that continues till date. The current edition has gifted us a new tradition and one that I hope will be carried forward by Los Angeles 2028 and other host cities thereafter.
Viva La Paris 2024!