The summer night air was warm with a light breeze and still with strollers posing for photos. After a summer concert at Notre-Dame de Paris, I strolled along Pont d’Arcole toward the glowing façade of Hôtel de Ville (City Hall). One of my plans was to see the Olympic cauldron, la vasque again. During the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, I had seen it many times, all lit up. As I glanced to my left to watch a boat pass under the bridge toward Pont Notre-Dame, there it was — swaying in the wind. All the memories of a year ago came rushing back.
Some of those memories still linger in the form of leftover event signs. I spotted one next to the side entrance of City Hall, across from the BHV department store. At Marché Saint‑Germain, sports signage remains in place. Emerging from the metro on my way to the Square des Poètes at Port d’Auteuil, I noticed the bright pink Olympic sign still pointing toward the Roland‑Garros tennis stadium. And one evening in Montmartre, on my way to a café concert, I saw that the street still carried painted markings from a Paris 2024 cycling race.
The gilded statues from the opening ceremony are visible again. The ten women who left their mark on French history are visible at Porte de la Chapelle. And what’s to come? By the end of 2025, hundreds of aluminum and inox medals in gold, silver and bronze will hang from the connecting bridge between l’Île de la Cité and l’Île Saint-Louis.
I remember the excitement — and disappointment — of Paris losing its 2012 Olympic bid. I also remember seeing the first signs of anticipation and uncertainty in 2021, when Olympic souvenir tee shirts began appearing in the Tuileries Garden. Experiencing Club France and the Paralympics was a thrill. Tickets — if bought early — were far more affordable than those for the main Olympics, and just as exciting. The bridge and road closures were a temporary hassle, especially for taxi drivers, buses, and delivery trucks, but the atmosphere made up for it. The police presence was visible but relaxed. It was a joyous stretch between July 26 and September 8 — a unique time that may not come again soon.
By summer 2024, some Parisians were leaving the city to avoid the potential chaos of the 100th‑anniversary Games. In July 2025, I read interviews with some who regretted their “flee the chaos” decision.
One of the Olympics highlights for me came the day before the Paralympics opened. I had an invitation to the Zeus Project in the courtyard of the Hôtel de Ville. Remember the silver horse with the maiden dressed in silver armour? They galloped across the Seine for the opening ceremony? Some of the lead players were there, Madame the Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Thomas Jolly, the artistic director for the Olympics, and Aurélien Meyer, designer of Zeus from Atelier BLAM.
Another highlight was at a press conference, when Mathieu Lehanneur, designer of the Olympic torch and the cauldron gave us background and hope that the cauldron would fly again for the Paralympics.
On the opening day of the Paralympics, I saw the lighting of the first torch that would be relayed until HĂ´tel de Ville for the lighting of the flame.
During the Olympics and Paralympics, so much was happening that I only had time to post on my Instagram account, @colleensparis. Recently, I decided to rewatch those reels. Many of the images now live only on my hard drive, one events (my favourite Wheelchair rugby) I forgot to copy onto my hard drive: The rest are there ready to bring that Olympic nostalgia rushing back whenever I look at them.
YouTube videos from the Olympics
I took some of the Instagram reels and combined them into a video.
Myomnitrott is working in partnership with the City of Paris and the Paris Tourist Office (Paris je t’aime) during the Paris Olympics 2024.
Reading the morning newspaper on Wednesday, July 31, we found out the Seine was no longer polluted and the triathlon could take place.
Spot 24 Exhibition of recent olympic sports and breaking. This video features Yousef Mecheri, who performed at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Paralympics, and the marble sculptor/artist, LĂ©o Caillard, whose work was on display at the exhibition.
The Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony July 26 took three three weeks of set up. The dismantling started on July 27. It will probably go much quicker.