Paris Reignites Olympic Spirit One Year On

Parisians had such unexpected fun at their Olympics last summer, that they are holding a public anniversary celebration to recapture the party mood, but not everyone is quite as enthusiastic.

- 

PARIS -

The Olympic rings will be projected on the Eiffel Tower, and there will be a giant Olympic karaoke in front of the town hall on July 26.

However, preceding that party, the glowing cauldron balloon — "a symbol of the popular enthusiasm for these Olympic Games" according to France's National Olympic Committee — returns on June 21.

It will float once again above the Tuileries Garden, with President Emmanuel Macron in attendance, to conjure golden memories, even for those who were not there.

"There are many Parisians who fled Paris last year and who kicked themselves," said Matthieu Gobbi of Aerophile, the company responsible for the balloon.

Yet athletes and grassroots sports organisations in France lament the lack of a more tangible "legacy".

For those who were there, and the five billion the International Olympic Committee (IOC) says watched around the world, the Games provided 15 days of candy-coloured distraction from wars, divisive elections and global inflation.

The sport was also spectacular, illuminated by the redemption of gymnast Simone Biles, a likely last Roland Garros triumph for the then 37-year-old Novak Djokovic, and the swimming heroics of French golden boy Leon Marchand.