From the long list of problems at the opening of the Paris Olympics, one thing came true, namely the rain, writes Urheilu’s Roope Visuri.
Roope Visuriruheluth reporter
PARIS.
– FINLAND! A surprising shout echoed when the Finnish Olympic team made its unprecedented way to Paris for the opening ceremony of the Olympics along the Seine river.
There was an American man involved, whose Finnish friend had not been able to attend. The American in question had then promised to call Finland on his behalf.
Moments earlier, the cold shivers had come in a warmer way, when Greece and the team of refugees, who were the first in the historic boat procession, had passed the observation post on the Aleksanteri 3 bridge. The sound produced by the horns, whistles and clapping was electrifying, when after a slow and quiet start, the audience erupted in loud noise.
– You are great, were shouted from the stands to many teams as they passed the crowd on the beaches.
These moments told the great side of the opening of the Paris Olympics. In the spectacle that lasted almost four hours, it rained most of the time, and even more than that, pouring.
Still, hardly any viewers left in the middle of it all. Instead, they tuned all kinds of rain dances like that lady gaga, Celine Dion’s as well as Daruden to the beat.
So, great sportsmanship on several occasions, although many were certainly soaking wet despite their rain gear. Although the strict security measures have surely made the wait painful and perhaps also prolonged the wait.
At least it was possible to get to the particular observation point on the banks of the Seine 40 minutes later than originally stated.
Rude Helsinki fact and bad luck
The opening plan of the race organizers, which was described as crazy daring, had many challenges, when the athletes were put in the open air to row six kilometers in the heart of Paris.
In the end, one of those challenges materialized, namely the weather.
In this sense, the Parisians were unlucky. In Paris, it rains on average seven days in July. Now one of the days hit the worst possible place and even more so.
It is also very rare that it rains at the opening of the Summer Olympics. The American media giant NBC feasted on the fact that the last time it rained at the opening of the Olympic Games was in 1952 in Helsinki.
Rain is by no means the most serious thing in the world compared to, for example, the dreaded terrorist attack or the like, but it still produces the ingredients of a disaster and tension for the start of the Games.
First of all, it is to be hoped that the athletes who spent a long time in the rain did not catch a worse cold and get sick. The Finnish team also had to put on more clothes during the opening procession.
It would be unfortunate if the insanely daring plan of the competition organizers led to a deterioration in the situation of the main stars, i.e. the athletes. Of course, remembering that going to the opening ceremony is of course each athlete’s own decision and the rain is also a matter of clothing.
Another ingredient of the disaster is hidden, even in the heart of the opening night, i.e. in the Seine river. Paris has spent about 1.4 billion euros to clean the river so that it could compete there in these Olympic triathlons and open water swimming, and then the whole nation could be allowed to swim in the river. It has been forbidden to swim in the Seine for 100 years, but if the project succeeds, it would be quite an image win. Rain is basically not good for thought.
New York Times opened pattern in Friday’s story. In an old city like Paris, rainwater and wastewater can mix. When it rains, human waste can end up in the Seine. They cause bacteria that can make a person very sick.
That’s exactly what happened last year. Some test competitions had to be cancelled. Paratriathlete Liina Nuoranne became ill after competing in polluted water.
Now it’s okay to hope that nothing serious will arise from the ingredients. Of course, in the big picture, you also have to remember that the worst fears related to the opening did not come true. The security measures were good, even if they could be annoying.
If the aforementioned threatening images created by the rain do not materialize, the memories of memorable and even more mythical openings are at hand. A good example of this is the 2005 World Cup in Finland. We still remember the evening when the games had to be stopped one day due to rain chaos.
Here, too, there are similar opportunities on an even larger scale. “Do you remember when we were with more than 300,000 other people in the pouring rain, the Olympic flame was lit in a hot air balloon and the fire became visible over Paris?”
Surely many Parisians who came to the place want to cherish this kind of memory.