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Alumni at the Paris Games - Part 7
In this series of portraits, we shine the spotlight on the Icam engineers and students who, in their own way, helped to make these Games an unforgettable experience.
With interns Maxence Brossault (126 Nantes) in Brussels and Valentin Savourel (126 Nantes) in Paris, it was the perfect opportunity to meet up in Paris and take part in this historic event, as Maxence was able to telecommute to Paris. A few days after having accepted, they were given the details of their mission: to help organize and ensure the smooth running of the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games. In particular, they were to accompany the delegations as they passed through the stadium and ensure that the evening was not disrupted by any mischief.
It was a mission lasting just a few hours, but one that required a great deal of intense preparation, with nightly rehearsals from 10pm to 7am in the Stade de France over the course of a week. It was a way of discovering the insane organization behind this global event, and seeing up close the training of artists who have performed there, such as Tom Cruise, in an incredible multicultural context. In a way, they also had to be prepared to be cheered by the 80,000 spectators who would be present in the stadium, as they are surely less used to it than the Olympic athletes. It was the feeling of being part of France's influence that drove them throughout their preparation.
As they put their hours of intensive training into practice at the ceremony, they are both impressed, overwhelmed by the welcome they receive as they enter the stadium, and overcome with stage fright comparable to that of an artist taking to the stage. They shared with us an anecdote about an event we weren't able to see on TV: during the Phoenix concert, the enthusiasm of the young athletes, very happy, excited and unaccustomed to cameras, pushed them to go on stage.... This sequence plunged the entire stadium into a state of total incomprehension for almost twenty minutes. Twenty minutes during which Maxence and Valentin shared the stage with the athletes, inviting them to come down so that the show could resume: an incredible moment for them as they found themselves mixed in with the Olympic athletes, and the singers who were performing at the time, Angèle and Phoenix.
As well as taking part in the ceremony, they took advantage of their presence in Paris to attend several Olympic Games events: the rowing qualifiers from 8am on the first day, the rugby 7-a-side quarter-finals even before the opening ceremony, and Féraud Prevos's gold medal in mountain biking. Valentin took the opportunity to invite his grandparents to attend the swimming, table tennis, athletics and basketball events, so that they could experience this unique moment. As volunteers, they were also offered tickets for athletics events at the Paralympic Games.
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