The Week of Olympism has ended!
For one week, students from Staps, coming from all over France, discovered Nice and its many wonders.
Invited as part of the week of Olympism, they had to carry out a project focused on the values of sport. The goal was to give a boost to Paris 2024’s candidacy.
An intense week
Adèle de Best, the organizer of the stay, worked day and night for six months on the planning of this week.
For her, the project is truly “fantastic” because the team around her became tightly knit, allowing for real cohesion. Yet, she says, it’s not something easy when the students come from everywhere. Time must be given for harmony to develop. That’s why an icebreaking evening was organized on Monday night.
The color of victory, as a symbol
Their journey through the city of Nice began with a film-debate. A documentary on the values promoted by sport, regardless of the political context, called “The Colors of Victory”. The story traces the epic adventure of Jesse Owens’s triumph at the 1936 Olympic Games, where, in front of a stunned stadium, he became the first man of color to win 4 gold medals.
The documentary is not very well-known by the general public, as it is rarely broadcast. One must be truly curious to dare to watch it, according to Adèle. Everyone seems pleasantly surprised by this program choice.
This is the case for Valentin Thibault, a student who came especially from Paris. He applied just a few hours before registration for this Olympic week closed. He is satisfied. For him, the film is a brilliant idea. Especially since, he states, “it’s exactly related to the Olympic values we’ve seen over the week.” Furthermore, he adds: “we had a debate with exchanges among sports enthusiasts, we didn’t all agree, but it allowed us to share views…”
The National Sports Museum
The exchanges continued the next morning during a visit to the National Sports Museum. A museum that seems immense to Valentin Thibault. For him, the diversity of the collection is simply incredible. He had already seen some sports museums with a few jerseys, a few shoes… But here, it goes well beyond that. The museum has managed to associate amateur and professional sports. He remains amazed. And the surprise is only going to grow. The organizers have one last surprise for the students.
An evening to support the Paris 2024 candidacy.
Like a happy ending to a week rich in emotions: Paris 2024. This night is the last. The students gather to celebrate together an Olympic week full of discoveries.
And as a symbol, it is around Paris 2024 that the stay concludes. The campaign organizers came especially for the occasion to share their knowledge with them and encourage them to support the bid. After all, who better than Paris can host the 2024 Summer Olympics? No one, except Los Angeles.
But around 9 PM, a thunderbolt strikes. Donald Trump withdraws the United States from the Paris climate agreement.
A message of hope for Paris to finally secure the bid? Answer in early September.
Thomas Lagesse, EdJ
