Normandy and the 2024 Olympics, a game of expertise! From the Olympic torch and training centres to the creativity and passion that goes into sport, dive into an Olympic journey showcasing Normandy’s talent.
An athletic land
Alexis Hanquinquant, Florian Merrien, Flavie Renouard, Amida Zidani… Do those names sound familiar? They should: they’re all athletes from Normandy competing at Paris 2024 who are just waiting for the event and your applause to begin. Many of these sportsmen and women receive support from the Region as members of Team Normandy.
A welcoming land
A region a few hours from Paris with new or renovated facilities: what more could you want? Twenty delegations from home and abroad covering up to 20 disciplines seized the opportunity and chose Normandy as their training base. They include the French fencing team who trained in Forges-les-Eaux in Seine-Maritime between July 18th and 25th, and the French taekwondo team at the new improved Centre Sportif de Normandie in Houlgate. In terms of international teams, over 200 Chinese athletes in a dozen disciplines will train at sports facilities in Deauville.
Let’s not forget Bayeux that has the honour of being the Olympic training site for the Refugee Team between July 15th and 18th. A powerful symbol for a town famous for being the first to be liberated in France in 1944 and for hosting the annual Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award for war correspondents.
A game-changing land
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Guy Degrenne
Speaking of the Olympic torch, did you know that it was made by a Normandy company? 300 employees at the Guy Degrenne factory in Vire, Calvados, had the honour of making 2000 carried by torch carriers along the route.
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Laudescher
The Manche company Laudescher is another game-changer in Carentan-les-Marais. Several sports facilities hosting Olympic and Paralympic athletes for Paris 2024 have been supported by the expert in premium, design-led, acoustic solid wood architectural solutions.
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Gipsy Toys
Last but not least, the official mascots called the Phryges were also partly designed in Normandy. Gipsy Toys, in Ifs near Caen played a hand in their design. An eco-friendly mascot capturing the region’s values as it’s made from recycled plastic bottles!
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La Fonderie Cornille Havard
At the Stade de France, a monumental bell celebrates match finishes, records and Olympic victories. Made by the Cornille Havard foundry in Villedieu-les-Poêles, it bears witness to the ancestral expertise of this Manche-based foundry, which has been producing bells for prestigious monuments since 1865, including Notre-Dame de Paris, where the Stade de France bell will be installed after the Games.
A creative and inspiring land
Normandy is certainly an inspiring place to live: did you know that the Father of the Olympics spent some of his childhood in Normandy? This is also where the first words of the Olympic Charter were written in 1898 by Pierre de Coubertin at Château de Mirville, deep in Pays de Caux in Seine-Maritime.
The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part; the important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.
Start as you mean to go on and end on a high, unburdened by impatience or stress: Normandy’s very own Thomas Jolly, artistic director at La Piccola Familia, is in charge of the much-anticipated opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics and Paralympics. Rouen’s perfoming arts prodigy showcased the new, improved Starmania musical at La Seine Musicale and is bound to dazzle the entire planet with Norman creativity on July 26th!
A golden Norman
Do you recognise him? Pierre Salzmann-Crochet, alias Big Salz, is a high-profile speaker at Caen BC and USO Mondeville who has been chosen to bring the energy to Olympic men’s and women’s basketball games (5×5) in Lille and Paris. He will also commentate on wheelchair basketball games at the Paralympics.
Thematics
