Olympics: Organizers Build Buzz Around Opening Ceremony, But Local Businesses Lament That Crowds Have Yet to Appear in Paris

Landing the Summer Olympics was supposed to be a shot in the arm for France’s economy. 

But in the Tuileries Gardens on a recent July day, instead of preparing to welcome throngs of tourists, one café owner was busy bemoaning his rotten luck. Here he was, midway between the Louvre and the Champs-Élysées, one of the city’s best locations, looking out at a sea of empty tables. The crowds had yet to appear, and those sports fans who had touched down in the City of Light had been greeted with pedestrian restrictions and security barriers that essentially left his business cut off. 

It wasn’t meant to be this way. The most recent Olympic Games, in Tokyo and Beijing, took place during the pandemic, curtailing the influx of foreign visitors that adds excitement to the sporting events and profits local businesses. Now that the specter of COVID has lifted, Paris should herald a grand return — reestablishing the Olympics as the preeminent athletic showcase against the backdrop of the world’s most romantic city. This hopeful vision raised spirits in the spring of 2020, spurring French officials and urban planners to enact lockdown-exempt infrastructure projects designed to showcase the city. In the lead-up to the Games, hospitality businesses were encouraged to bulk up their staffing for an anticipated summer rush. But with just days to go before the Olympic cauldron is lit, the tourists don’t seem to be materializing. (Although, given the persistent rumors that Celine Dion will perform at the opening ceremony alongside Lady Gaga, many of those who opted to stay home may have come down with a case of FOMO.)

“Everyone is struggling,” tour operator and Melbourne native Jess Jeacle tells Variety. “We’re shocked, because we were promised so many more visitors. We thought it would be great, but we’re looking at around 50% less bookings than last year.” 

With international visitors failing to turn up in force, French fans will fill the stands. So far, domestic visitors account for a whopping 85% of the 11.3 million attendees expected this summer, and are responsible for more than 60% of all tickets sold. On social media, however, locals aren’t expressing a sense of pride. Instead, these sites have been overrun with grumbling about this or that construction project interspersed with dire predictions about the Games. 

Months ago, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo tried to drum up enthusiasm by pledging to swim in the Seine: The event would cap the city’s $1.5 billion project to clean up the notoriously toxic river. Cantankerous locals responded with the social-media campaign #JeChieDansLaSeine, which encouraged Parisians to poop in the water on the day of Hidalgo’s dip. Across the globe, Netflix viewers binged Xavier Gens’ horror satire “Under Paris,” which imagines a triathlon athlete navigating a river full of sharks and trash. 

But before the mayor could show off her breaststroke, President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly, sweeping the country into a monthlong political storm that built to a snap parliamentary election on June 23. That was the very day of Hidalgo’s intended swim, which was then delayed. Two rounds of voting later, with fears of a far-right takeover temporarily allayed — though with the fractious new parliament showing little sign of stability — the 65-year-old mayor finally made good on her promise. On July 17, Hidalgo donned goggles and a wetsuit and took the plunge. 

The stunt was a success, but the media halo didn’t last long. A day later, the labor union CGT announced plans for a 3,000-person strike set to coincide with the Olympic opening ceremony on July 26. 

“The last few weeks have been intense,” admits Paris 2024 chairman Tony Estanguet. “We knew we were tackling a big challenge, [so] it was important to keep some stability in the preparation of these Games. We wondered whether the election would create too much disturbance, and we’re grateful that our political leaders allowed us to move forward quite normally.” 

A gold medal-winning slalom canoeist turned organizing committee president, Estanguet had hoped for a “truce” because the Games themselves are so symbolically important. 

“The Olympic Games are about unity,” he says. “Athletes are just athletes, and they have absolutely no power over the political decisions of each country, but the world of sports still offers this image of universality. [Union leaders and event organizers] have to share in that responsibility to preserve such moments, to make them as moving and impactful as possible.” 

Of course, staging the Olympic and Paralympic games in the heart of Paris comes with downsides. Key points of access for the shipping companies that use the Seine as a form of transport will be blocked off, while areas around competition sites will remain inaccessible to those without a QR code. The Paris Terminal municipal port is forecasting a 12% dip in revenue. And businesses in the affected zones are enduring greater uncertainty, as customers respond to changing regulations and restrictions by simply avoiding whole neighborhoods. 

“From a business perspective, things are not so good,” says Paris Terminal CEO Juan-Manuel Suárez. “Presenting my results to the board at the end of the year might be a bit painful. But right now, I’m really excited about the Games, and personally, I’m very proud!” 

These aren’t the only issues. Locals and attendees can purchase an access-granting Pass Jeux (“game pass”), but those have given rise to phishing scams. Parisians have reportedly received emails promising better accessibility if they click on seemingly innocuous links. And though events can be attended with just a ticket, and nearby restaurants and hotels with proof of reservation, local authorities have had trouble communicating that information in clear terms. That, in turn, has helped depress tourism. 

“Regular customers have been completely transparent and honest, telling me they won’t come to Paris this summer because the constraints around transportation and mobility really piss them off,” says Chloé Colin, who manages the wine-bar annex to the Bistrot Paul Bert, a popular destination for international gourmands. 

“We can’t invent a clientele; if the tourists are here, we have customers,” Colin says. “But right now, things are very quiet, and we’re hardly an isolated case.”