Paris 2024 Olympic Games: “These Olympic Games can move us towards more sustainable sporting events”

Le passage de la flamme à Montpellier, lundi 13 mai, a déplacé les foules. Midi Libre – GIACOMO ITALIANO

While the torch relay moves crowds everywhere and ends its journey in Occitania, Lukas Aubin, researcher at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS) and specialist in the geopolitics of sport has just published Sport Power. He deciphers what the organization of mega-sporting events can bring to French cities.

The torch relay is a bit like the Tour de France?

Yes. The sporting dimension is there as well as that of the event. The idea in both cases is to use sport to show part of the heritage of a city or region on a global scale and to attract investors and tourists. Power sport can be used like this. But it is a double-edged sword because if there is an attack, an accident, potentially the image that will remain engraved will be negative. The most notable example remains the Munich 72 Olympics linked to an attack.

For Lukas Aubin “many communities are not yet aware of the use they can make of sport.” DR

180 000 euros for a leg of the relay in a department, it’s an interesting sum ?

It all depends on your wallet. The problem with pricing the amount of the relay is that you exclude communities which cannot afford it and which might need it to attract tourists. There were several ways to do it. We could impose the journey without charging. This is another solution that was chosen, with the revenue that it requires to replenish the coffers. But that prevents us from thinking of the relay as a story to tell, a national novel to pass on.

In your book you describe five ways for communities to use sport. Which are the most used ?

They are all linked. Most of the time, elected officials are not aware of making geopolitics sport but they do "at’ without their knowledge " to use a sporting formula. Cities or communities do this occasionally. Others like Marseille have succeeded in thinking about the use of sport to shine on the Mediterranean, city bringing, territorial branding through sport. Small or medium-sized towns like Auxerre (football) or Caen (horse riding) have become ultra-specialized. A big step will be taken when the majority of cities are truly aware of how they can use sport.

The book: “Sport Power”, behind the scenes

Published by éditions Autres (160 Pages, 16€), the essay SPORT POWER analyzes what the organization of mega-sporting events can bring to French cities.< /p>

Researcher in the geopolitics of sport at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), Lukas Aubin notes that certain territories are today distancing themselves from these logics of attractiveness in view of environmental issues.

Behind the window of the Olympic Games, he also takes an uncompromising overview and describes "a French sporting power in decline" against the backdrop " insufficient funding, aging infrastructure and lack of support for athletes." 

Sport Power published by Autre (16 euros) Editions Autres

Montpellier built a large part of its reputation on sport in the 80s and 90s with Georges Frêche. If she abruptly turns away from it, will her image risk suffering??

It depends on what sport would be replaced by. Today, cities, from a geopolitical point of view, have more and more importance and each seeks to create its own identity. Some have a green identity, others have a more futuristic or sporty identity. We must keep in mind that sport is a popular, malleable social fact, which affects the entire planet and represents 2% of global GDP. The Olympics will be watched by 4 to 5 people. ;billions of viewers. It’s huge. We need to work on this image.

Communities are turning away from it for environmental reasons ?

The broader phenomenon, which is recent, is that of social acceptability. This is one of the key concepts of my work. We realize that, in Western democracies, in the age of global warming and everything digital, it is very complicated for a city to host a sporting event if you do not respect a form of social contract with your population. If you are too polluting, if you do not respect the rights of workers, of LGBT people, if you do not create a virtuous, sustainable and green circle, you could attract the wrath of a segment of the population. Dialogue is necessary to think together about the sport of tomorrow.

Paris 2024 declares that it is taking up this challenge. Is it cosmetic or a real change?

We're not sure about cosmetics but, no, it's not enough. The Olympics are clearly an anachronistic event. You bring the entire planet in by plane, you build new infrastructure for years. You can try to offset your carbon emissions, they are there! What is true is that Paris has made efforts to make its Games as green and inclusive as possible, and also the most equal. This is part of a Western cycle of the Olympics which will then go to the United States. There is this idea that it’s the turn of democracies to think of a new model, to find the formula for the green, sustainable and inclusive mega sporting event.

With this notion of inheritance highlighted…

Yes and that contrasts a lot with what we saw at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. There is a mirror effect. These Paris Games are intended to be the antithesis of totally deregulated games even if that does not mean that they will succeed. They can be a tipping point towards more sustainable major competitions.

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