Insight: Issue 179 | Wed 31 July

Vive La France!

Hey event profs…anyone know where Summer went?

Never fear through, we have just the tonic to dispel that gloom & doom – yep, it’s a hefty doze of the best events news round up in this, or any other solar system (probably). This week we have; Controversy hits the Olympics Opening Ceremony; Event meets reality of pollution; The future of events; and the Impact of Environmental impact days.

Paris 2024 opening ceremony (in the pouring rain) causes a stir

There’s only one place to start…..it was an evening full of glitz, glamour, dancing, lights, floating boats, torrential rain and a hefty dose of controversy – it must be the opening ceremony of the Olympics, Parisian style!

The Olympics official website stated it would be, “bold, original and unique – an Opening Ceremony that is certain to join the most memorable moments in Olympic history.” They weren’t wrong.

However, what dominated the headlines wasn’t the spectacular floating parade up the Seine, or the dazzling light show at the Eiffel Tower…it was a Banquet Scene which included a depiction of the Greek God Dionysus  – one which was criticised by many Christian groups.

The organisers have since stated that they are ‘sorry’ if the scenes caused any offence.

The ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, said there was no intention to “mock or denigrate anyone” and explained the scene in question was designed to reference pagan gods.

“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group,” Paris 2024 spokeswoman Anne Descamps told reporters on Sunday.

Events meet the reality of pollution

Continuing with the Olympic theme, more issues have arisen as a training event for the Olympic triathlon at the 2024 Paris Games has been cancelled because of pollution in the River Seine.

The swimming event in the triathlon, which also sees athletes take part in long distance running and cycling, is currently planned to take place in Paris’ iconic river.

However, after tests showed that the water quality was not safe enough to swim in, World Triathlon and the Paris 2024 team made a joint decision to cancel Sunday’s training session.

If the water still isn’t up to standard by the time the triathlon event starts on Tuesday 30 July, then the swimming could be either postponed or moved to Vaires-sur-Marne, on the Marne river east of Paris.

Just a few weeks ago, it was declared clean enough to swim in for the competition, but organisers have blamed the weather in recent days for the increased pollution.

What will the events industry look like in 2049?

As Central Hall Venues celebrates 25 years as an events business, its team have been talking to Event Industry News and reviewed industry changes during their time, before peering into the future to give predictions for how the events industry will evolve over the next quarter of a century.

The Central Hall team cover everything – from tech and connectivity, to sustainability and customisation. Read more here.

Environmental recognition days: impactful or irrelevant?

In a recent article in Conference News, Elliot Durrant, sustainability consultant at The Bulb, explores whether environmental recognition days and awareness months deliver the impact needed to propel us towards a sustainable future.

In the article Elliot queries whether Environmental recognition days and awareness months, such as Plastic Free July, Earth Day and World Environment Day truly help to achieve global net-zero goals and foster long-term environmental stewardship?

Read the article here.

And that’s yer lot!

It’s good to be back event profs. More rounding up of the very best events news on the planet next time. Until then, we’re outta here like a lightening bolt….