While the Ancient Olympics originated in Greece, its modern incarnation is very much a French affair.
FILE - The bronze bust of the French Baron Pierre de Coubertin stands at the entrance of the Hellenic Olympic Committee building in Athens, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Coubertin envisioned the Olympics as a pacifist exercise that could foster international cooperation and peace, especially in the wake of France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. The worst charge against Coubertin, was a personal letter he sent to Adolf Hitler praising the Nazi dictator and the Third Reich.
While the first modern Olympics were held in Greece in 1896 to honor their ancient roots, the second Olympiad in 1900 was hosted in Paris. For Paris 2024, Coubertin’s legacy is being evoked in arts competitions like the “Pentathlon of the Arts” at the Versailles Palace, and similar initiatives at the French National Sports Museum in Nice. Some 1,000 French towns and cities are taking part in the Cultural Olympiad, which promotes cultural events with an Olympics theme.
The Coubertin family association says Hitler and Coubertin didn't maintain regular correspondence. “Exchanges took place through third parties or were limited to a few polite letters,” a spokesperson for the association wrote in a statement to The Associated Press. “What is sometimes missing in discussions about Coubertin is to put him into the context of his time. Every person is entitled to be judged only according to their time,” Bach asserted. “France can be really proud of Coubertin and of his legacy.”France has long understood the potential of the Olympics as a tool of soft power, arguably making it one of the first modern examples of this concept.
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