As every year, Nice celebrates its athletes during the Victoires du Sport ceremony. It is an occasion to appreciate a well-oiled and highly entertaining show. National and local stars take the stage and unanimously express their love for the Azur capital.
This year again, Christophe Josse, the voice of BeIN Sport, expertly hosted the evening, mixing seriousness and humor. The ceremony began with the arrival of a group of famous athletes such as Camille Muffat, Alexis Bosetti, Xavier Barachet, and Jérôme Ardisonne, accompanying the Mayor, Christian Estrosi. The group, unsurprisingly, was unanimously applauded by the audience.
A pair of Cirque du Soleil gymnasts then opened the ball with an impressive and spectacular demonstration. The godfather of this edition was then revealed. Kept secret until the last moment, it was Denis Saïoni who appeared in his fighting attire, to a room won over by his presence. To recall, this force of nature has been a seven-time French champion in free combat, American boxing, and significantly, the winner of the WBF intercontinental belt and the European title in boxing.
Nice was further honored with the presence of several local figures such as Fabrice Pellerin, coach of Camille Muffat, Jean-Pierre Rivère, President of OGC Nice, and Gilles Veissière, former international referee. They expressed their admiration for the wealth of the department and their love for the city.
A film, “Nice, City of Sport,” was then screened, summarizing the year 2013 from the perspective of sports complexes, elite clubs, sporting hopes in the department, Nice’s sports elites, significant events of the year, and looked towards the future with upcoming events and the four Nice athletes participating in the Sochi Olympics.
Christian Estrosi then began his speech by mentioning the upcoming municipal elections and reminding us that “he would say nothing (editor’s note: due to the law)” regarding the elections but that “the law did not forbid him from speaking from the heart.”
Emphasizing the importance of equity and highlighting all sports, the Mayor stated that he “did not accept the decision” regarding Bosetti’s sanction and that it was unfair not to be able to show love for his city. He concluded his speech by affirming that the year 2013 showed that “Nice is at the pinnacle of national, European, and global sport.”
Various tributes were then paid to some sports managers, and those who passed away this year were not forgotten. A group of stuntmen who recently worked on Luc Besson’s latest project then put on a show mixing acrobatics and humor, recreating well-known film scenes like those from Matrix.
A special focus was given to Loïc Pietri, a Nice judoka world champion in 2013 in Rio, following in the footsteps of his father, also a Judo champion. A video tracing the South American event and the athlete’s triumph was shown, and the young Azur native expressed his desire to continue his momentum for the upcoming championships, especially the Rio Olympics in 2016.
The 350 medalists then paraded on stage, and the final prizes were distributed. The event concluded with Denis Saïoni donating to Christian Estrosi his boxing shorts worn for his European championship victory, in gratitude for the city’s support.
The Mayor concluded by promising that this piece would have its place in the national sports museum in Nice.
