TO STRIVE, TO SEEK,TO FIND...

....AND LOSE YOUR SHIRT

The recently concluded Olympic Games, the third to be hosted by Paris, following outings in 1900 and 1924, were the first not to be marred by blatant cheating, favouritism and national bias. While the organisers maintained their reputation for eccentricity by introducting skate-boarding and break-dancing,  neither rivalled the oddity of such earlier inclusions as balloon-racing, mountain-climbing, and pigeon shooting – with real pigeons.

It was a wise decision not to build new stadia but to use existing spaces within the city, and the belated acceptance that Big Sport is just show business-plus-sweat led to such crowd-pleasers as Tom Cruise abseiling from a helicopter into the Parc des Princes and Céline Dion channelling Edith Piaf on a rain-soaked Tour Eiffel. Even in a town famed for its parties, this Olympiad, most agreed, was the boum of the century so far.

Following the show, however, Comes the Dawn…..

In stores across France, displays have appeared of Olympic-themed merchandise, piled high and sold cheap. Most items feature the ill-chosen Games mascots; triangular crimson creatures called Phryges, stylised versions of the Phrygian cap traditionally worn by the figure of Liberty. All are substantially marked down, further evidence that the hoped-for commercial bonanza forecast to accompany the Games never materialized.

Defying every prognosis, hotels and restaurants remained under-occupied, and the streets almost empty. Everyone expected the influx of Games visitors to reinforce the customary summer tourist invasion. Instead, regular holidaymakers delayed their visits until after sports fans and competitors departed, and are only now arriving.

          In a belated effort to realize something on unsold merchandise, the Games organisers are staging a series of Grandes braderies des Jeux – flea markets - to get the stuff off their hands.   “On sale,” reports the local press, “will be items including the towels used by the athletes, the distinctive green uniforms (and pink hats) of the Games volunteers, flags and other decorative items from competition sites plus official merchandise such as T-shirts and cups.”

One souvenir item that proved a particular drug on the market was a hand-operated brumiseur with which one could pump a cooling mist of water onto an over-heated face and scalp. This was initially hailed as a brilliant innovation, an alternative to the high-priced aerosol versions marketed by such bottlers of mineral water as Evian. But the blistering temperatures so typical of Paris in August never eventuated. On the contrary, it rained for the gala opening ceremony, and thereafter the weather remained generally cool. People who bought these gadgets left them in their room.

           The first Games flea market in Paris took place yesterday and, by all accounts, was something of a bide ­- a dud.  It seems that while a few individuals may covet the sand-filled bra of a beach volleyball player or a sweaty jock-strap that once cradled the vitals of a gold-medal weight-lifter, most can think of better uses for their money.  But who knows? Maybe the unmarketability of Games-related clothing will encourage the organizers to revive the ancient Greek tradition and allow competitors to appear without encumbering clothing. Los Angeles - Naked in ‘28?