Why the Paris Olympics and Paralympics deserves a musical album

As one way of keeping the summer festivities going, how about we bring back the Olympics album to celebrate the great music of Paris 2024.

It’s been an incredible summer for sports with the Paris Summer Olympics and Paralympics firmly at the centre of the fun and festivities. With the 2024 Summer Paralympics still in full swing, it’s time to revive the small tradition of the Olympics album as a way to celebrate the euphoria of the games through song.
There hasn’t been an official Summer Olympics album since the 2012 games in London. That year, two albums were released, ‘Isles of Wonder’ and ‘A Symphony of British Music’, respectively featuring the music of the opening and closing ceremonies.
This would be a bumper year to bring back the official Summer Olympics and Paralympics albums. Let’s run through some of the hits that have defined Paris’ turn to host the legendary games.
Two songs were chosen as the official theme songs and anthems of the Olympics this year. The first was a modern classical composition by Victor le Masne called ‘Parade’. What starts typically enough as a string-led classical piece breaks into a house-styled electro-classical barnstormer. It’s no surprise given Le Masne has credits as a producer for French electro legends Justice and Kavinsky.
‘Hello World’ by Gwen Stefani and Anderson .Paak was the second official song of the Olympics this year. Produced by Ryan Tedder and made in collaboration with sponsor the Coca-Cola Company, this one is a bit more of a generic upbeat pop song that represents a non-entry into either of its principle musician’s discographies. Still, it’s a pleasant enough listen.
Paris’ opening ceremony was a controversial affair. The first to take part outside of a stadium in Olympic history, it divided critics over whether the Seine-based affair was a plodding rain-soaked bore-fest, or a subdued celebration of modern French culture.
What the opening ceremony did excel at was in its music selection. Replete with some of the biggest names in the industry, the ceremony included popstar Lady Gaga performing French ballet dancer Zizi Jeanmaire’s iconic song ‘Mon truc en plumes’.
Probably the most iconic moment of the ceremony came when the parade came to the Conciergerie, the prison which held Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution. On the outside walls of the prison, performers sung in concert dressed as the final queen of France, head in hands, as Gojira made history as the first metal band to perform at the Olympics.
Gojira were joined by opera singer Marina Viotti for a rendition of the French Revolution song ‘Ça Ira’ (It’ll be fine), renamed as ‘Mea Culpa’ for the ceremony. Rock on.
Ahead of the Olympics, the expected performance from French-Malian singer Aya Nakamura was subject to criticism from far right figures including National Rally leader, Marine Le Pen.
Le Pen described Nakamura’s presence as “not a beautiful symbol” and an “additional provocation from Emmanuel Macron”. Her comments were denounced as “shockingly racist” by the Paris Games’ organising committee.
On the night, Nakamura performed two of her own songs, ‘Pookie’ and ‘Djadja’ as well as a cover of ‘For me formidable’ by Charles Aznavour.
The opening ceremony also included covers of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ by Juliette Armanet as well as Drag Race France host Nicky Doll performing ‘I Had a Dream’. But the final moment to truly steal the show will always be Céline Dion’s. The Canadian singer battled through her debilitating stiff person syndrome to gloriously sing Édith Piaf’s ‘Hymne à l’amour’ from the Eiffel Tower as the grand finale.
The closing ceremony also was no slouch when it came to top records that could be added to the Olympics album.
French singer-songwriter Zaho de Sagazan, who won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Public Choice Award at this year’s Music Moves Europe Awards, opened the ceremony with ‘Sous le ciel de Paris’, before a bumper show featuring tons of contemporary music stars.
Phoenix performed their massive indie hit ‘Lisztomania’, Belgian singer Angèle, French electronic producer Kavinsky, French ambient duo Air, and Cambodian rapper VannDa also featured.
In a nod to the 2028 games in Los Angeles, Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig also appeared, ahead of a final segment featuring the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish and Snoop Dogg celebrating the Californian relocation.
There are also some classic hits to throw onto the prospective album from the closing ceremony, such as the rendition of Joe Dassin’s ‘Les Champs-Elysées’, Charles Aznavour’s ‘Emmenez-moi’ and of course, Divertimento Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Victor le Masne’s reworked ‘La Marseillaise’.