Beyond the Podium: Power, Protest, and Paradox at the Paris 2024 Olympics
The 2024 Olympic Games, set against the gleaming backdrop of Paris, are being sold as a celebration of unity, human excellence, and international harmony. But beneath the polished façade lies a complicated reality — a Games riddled with political contradictions, gender disparity, and racial injustice. For the African diaspora and the Global South, these Olympics are not merely about medals, but about visibility, justice, and the ongoing fight to be seen and heard in a world still dictated by colonial echoes.
Imane Khelif and the Price of Visibility
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif was poised to make history as the first female boxer from her country to compete in the Olympics. Instead, she found herself barred from competition due to ambiguous “eligibility concerns.” The timing and opacity of the decision have led many to believe this was less about regulations and more about politics.
Khelif’s exclusion is emblematic of a broader pattern — Black and brown athletes, particularly women, are disproportionately sidelined under the guise of policy. The African diaspora knows this script all too well. From Serena Williams being caricatured as brutish and “unfeminine,” to Caster Semenya being forced to medically alter her body just to compete, the question isn’t just who gets to play, but under what terms? And more importantly - who gets to decide?
Gender Disparities and the Ongoing Double Standards
The Paris Games made history by becoming the first gender-equal games with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) touting near gender parity in participation. High-profile cases like the continued pay gap between male and female athletes with 50:50 representation of male and female athletes.
Meanwhile, the IOC’s treatment of intersex athletes further reveals deep-seated discomfort with bodies that challenge binary norms. Semenya’s exclusion and investigations into Kehlif’s biological makeup, outline a disturbing trend in which inclusion is conditional — and often, exclusionary. The intersection of race, gender, and power in these cases should not be ignored. These athletes are not just fighting for medals, but for the right to exist within their own identities.
Controversy at the Core: The Ceremony and the Criminal
The controversies didn’t wait for the competitions to begin - they started with the opening ceremony. Paris’ decision to hold the event along the Seine was already criticised for its exclusivity, environmental concerns, and heavy police presence. But what truly ignited backlash was the ceremony’s visual centerpiece: a symbolic tableau featuring athletes seated at a long table, evoking imagery disturbingly similar to Leonardo Da Vinci’s artistic portrayal of The Last Supper.
For many, this wasn’t just artistic license - it was a provocative and tone-deaf display. Critics argued that the scene mocked a sacred religious moment for billions, all while being used to serve a nationalistic spectacle. In a time when global divisions run deep and tensions are high, choosing symbolism that flirts with blasphemy struck many as reckless, elitist, and deeply alienating.
And while the world was distracted by the pomp, visual grandeur, and the $8.2 billion dollars spent (making it the 6th most expensive Olympics in history), another outrage quietly slipped through: Dutch volleyball player Steven van de Velde, a convicted child rapist, was allowed to compete. That an athlete with such a history could be celebrated on this stage while others — like Imane Khelife — were disqualified over vague “eligibility concerns” speaks to the selective morality of international sport. It begs the question: whose dignity matters in the Olympic hierarchy?
Silenced Streets: Paris’ Crackdown on Dissent
As protests swell globally in support of Palestinian liberation and against systemic racism, France has responded not with dialogue, but repression. Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been banned. Anti-racist protests are met with police crackdowns. The same France that once marketed itself as the birthplace of liberté is now deploying surveillance and silencing tactics to control its Olympic narrative.
This isn’t new. From apartheid-era boycotts to China’s surveillance during Beijing 2008, host nations have long used the Olympics to launder their global image. What makes this year’s hypocrisy so stark is the audacity with which these repressions are occurring while the world watches.
War, Neutrality, and the Illusion of Fairness
Russia and Belarus may compete only as “neutrals” due to their ongoing aggression in Ukraine. But Israel faces no such limitation despite its military actions in Gaza. The Palestinian Olympic Committee’s plea for Israel’s suspension was ignored. The asymmetry is blatant and deeply frustrating. For many people in the African and Black diaspora, it echoes the past — when the world united to sanction apartheid South Africa, yet turned a blind eye to other brutal regimes committing similar abuses.
If the Olympics are truly about peace and unity, why are some conflicts deemed more worthy of sanction than others? The answer, it seems, lies not in justice, but in geopolitics.
Final Bell: What Do the Olympics Really Represent?
The 2024 Olympics may be marketed as the most inclusive Games in history, but for those paying attention, they are also the most revealing. They expose the uncomfortable truths of international sport: who gets protected, who gets punished, and who gets left behind.
For many communities, the Games are not just about performance. It’s about presence. It’s about calling out the contradictions, demanding accountability, and insisting that the values of equity, dignity, and justice aren’t just empty slogans but non-negotiable rights.
Paris may be the City of Lights, but in 2024, it’s also where shadows fall longest.
