Paris Olympics 2024 Diary: A celebration of global unity through sports and ‘Parisian’ traditions

Before the start of any competition in the Paris Olympics, three strikes to the ground with a baton, known as ‘A Brigadier,’ is a tradition, inspired by French theatre’s practice.

FILE PHOTO: Billie Jean King is introduced ahead of the Men’s Doubles first round match between Carlos Alcaraz and partner Rafael Nadal of Spain against Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

A world city

Paris has turned into a world city for a little over two weeks of the Olympics. Walk around the city, take public transport or a taxi ride, it’s not uncommon to spot people proudly wearing the colours and traditional dresses of their respective countries. A family, sporting Australia’s famous green and gold and holding inflatable plastic Kangaroos on the footpath was a pleasant sight. So was a group wearing conventional red Chinese costumes on the Paris metro. A man dressed up like a Spanish bull-fighter or some women in traditional African attire on the streets tells one the important role the Olympic Games plays in uniting the world.

The three strikes

Before the start of any competition in the Paris Olympics, three strikes to the ground with a baton, known as ‘A Brigadier,’ is an interesting practice. The tradition, inspired by French theatre’s practice before the start of a play, sees a public figure or a sportsperson or a volunteer hit the floor with a piece of wood. As different theories suggest varying explanations of how it originated, most likely in the 17th century, it is clearly an attempt to pay tribute to the cultural tradition of France. The ceremony is intended to create a link between the spectators and the athletes. In addition to the cultural symbolism, this tradition imposes a certain solemn and ceremonial dimension to each event, emphasising the importance of respecting the athletes’ performances, says  olympics.com. Besides, it adds to the uniqueness of Paris 2024.

Respect hockey

When you play a sport, you must respect it. Midway through the India-Ireland Pool-B hockey match at the Yves du Manoir Stadium, Indian forward Sukhjeet dropped his stick while going for the ball. It fell near an Irish player, who kicked it towards Sukhjeet. The Indian lifted his stick and went up to the Irishman to tell him something. Later, Sukhjeet shared the incident. “I told him ‘Try to respect hockey,’ to which he replied ‘I was just passing it on to you.’ I said, ‘This is not how you do it.’ As players, we should have some respect for the sport we play and equipment we use. After all, we are what we are because of hockey,” said Sukhjeet, underscoring his values as a professional.