Dear Newsletterest,

Yes, I am a little crazy for the Olympics. I am in Paris this week and it’s my sixth Olympics after first attending Atlanta 1996, then living in Sydney for 2000, in Beijing for work and London on a last minute trip. Rio 2016 was our first with the whole family, now Paris and I will be in LA for 2028, Brisbane for 2032 and hopefully India in 2036!

Rohit

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The Best Part of the Olympics You Don’t Get To See … Country Houses

Every Olympics for me has different highlights, from being one of the few non-athletes allowed in the Olympic Village in Beijing to watching Usain Bolt complete a fourth gold in Rio. One experience you might not see much coverage of are the unique country houses created by the delegations from various countries. This year, the houses featured reconstructed Mongolian gers, wood cabins from Slovakia, an open beach volleyball court at Casa Brasil, a full broadcast studio and three level experience at Canada House, candies and Mexican treats at Casa Mexico, an entire bazaar with master weavers and carpet makers at the India House. For an inside look at all the countries with houses, the team at House Party has put together a really useful recap even if you aren’t here in person. The list also includes some branded hospitality houses from sponsors including Chase Sapphire Reserve, Oakley, Puma and Omega.

Women’s Athletics Are A Big Story At Paris 2024 … But Equality Remains a Challenge

This is the first Olympics which will have true parity in terms of male versus female athletes and competitors. It’s a big story here at the Olympics, and rightfully so, but the Games also showcase a different reality that may not be realistic to project onto fan behavior outside these Games. Unlike non-Olympic time sports audiences, fans here and watching on TV seem equally excited and tuned in for sports like swimming, track & field, or tennis, as well as less popular sports like badminton, judo or weightlifting. In particular, popular sports like soccer and basketball seem equally popular here at the Olympics across the male or female competitions, but that seems unlikely to translate to the relative popularity of either sport when it comes to the professional levels due to the absence of most major male star athletes at both.

The progress for female athletes also seems limited when you consider the delegations from the vast majority of countries where their athletic teams remain predominately male. The gains for female athletes at the moment seem heavily weighted towards wealthy European regions and Western countries. Plus the coaching ranks remain mostly men. So it’s good progress, but the numbers in this case and all the celebration about parity may tell a story that isn’t entirely complete and be a bit premature in this case.

Four Entirely Predictable Olympic Stories That Happen Every Time

Anyone who follows the Olympics knows there are some media narratives that happen every four years and always turn out the same. There are myths and then reality. Since so many people ask me about those stories, I built my own list over the years. For your entertainment, I thought I’d share them. I could go and easily find multiple stories to support each of these - but they are the stories you see every time and will definitely happen in four years before the LA 2028 games too.

Myth #1: The Olympic city won’t be ready for the games, venues won’t be finished or won’t function as planned, the past host city will need to take over and host the Games again or everything will be a disaster.

Reality: Everything gets done, venues are operational and aside from minor hiccups (like rain during an Opening Ceremonies), things generally work out.

Myth #2: Traffic will be terrible, everything will be gridlocked, transit will be a nightmare and the host city will be unable to manage the crowds.

Reality: Local work and business travel mostly disappears. Olympic fans rely mostly on public transportation. This causes traffic to conversely be lower than usual and the locals who do stay love it.

Myth #3: Businesses in the host city will see a boom in visitors, revenue and traffic from all the Olympic visitors.

Reality: Most Olympic venues are self-contained, it’s hard to eat elsewhere, shops are mostly official and venues are in very specific regions. All this means less optimally located local vendors such as stores, restaurants and others often see their sales go down and are disappointed.

Myth #4: It will be impossible to get tickets to any events, hotels and accommodation will be totally sold out and there’s no point in trying to attend if you haven’t booked everything a year or more in advance.

Reality: You could literally decide today that you want to attend Paris 2024, get a flight this weekend, find accommodation and get tickets to see at least some events. It may be more expensive and obviously requires having the cash to spend, but you could also land a great deal because it’s last minute and it’s certainly possible. Let me know if you do choose to come and I can probably help you get some tickets too. :-)

Best & Worst Marketing Ideas From the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

It’s time for another review of the best and worst of the Olympic Games marketing. This isn’t a complete list but some of my initial impressions based on reading and what I’m seeing here on site in Paris too. Let’s start with the winners.

Best of Paris 2024 Olympic Marketing:

Worst of Paris 2024 Olympic Marketing:

The Non-Obvious Book of the Week

Parisian Charm School

The author of the provocatively titled book French Women Don’t Sleep Alone followed up her hit debut book with this more approachable guide to being charming—Parisian Charm School. I read it several years ago despite it’s obvious focus on being a guide for women to access their flirtatious side … whether seeking a romantic partner or not. What I found fascinating was the lessons in the book that transcend the world of dating. She talks of the importance to “recognize the value of the work of people who make fashion” so you can stop buying cheap stuff while also offering a reminder to enjoy simple pleasures that cost nothing. From engaging in captivating conversations to applying the French art of flirting in unexpected situations, this is a surprisingly fun read … even if you don’t happen to be in the category of reader it was clearly written for.

About the Non-Obvious Book Selection of the Week:

Every week I will be featuring a new “non-obvious” book selection worth sharing. Titles featured here may be new or from the backlist, but the date of publication doesn’t really matter. My goal is to elevate great books that perhaps deserve a second look which you might have otherwise missed.

Even More Non-Obvious Stories …

Every week I always curate more stories than I'm able to explore in detail. Instead of skipping those stories, I started to share them in this section so you can skim the headlines and click on any that spark your interest:

How are these stories curated?