Should we hold an Olympics for the Arts?
For a few decades the modern Olympics included medals for the Arts. What if this had never stopped?
Did you know that there used to be Olympic medals awarded for the Arts?! I only discovered this last week when, in my other life as a homeschool mum, I ran a lesson on the Olympics for a group of tween girls. We learned that from 1912 to 1948, continuing a tradition established in the ancient games, Olympic medals were awarded in the categories of architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture. This was because the founder of the IOC and the modern Olympics (est. 1896), a chap named Baron Pierre de Coubertin, saw the Arts as vital to his Olympic vision, and so its inclusion grew from 35 artists in Sweden in 1912, to over a thousand entries in 1932, a year which also delivered 384,000 visitors to the exhibition at the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art. However, the Arts at the Olympics came to an end shortly after the Second World War, ostensibly because the new IOC president, an American named Avery Brundage, insisted on only amateur competitors, and most of the artists entering were now professionals, who were also under suspicion of benefiting financially from the exposure. (Brundage must be turning in his grave at the current state of Olympic affairs!)
But this is all ancient history now, right? Does it really matter that we don’t have Arts competitions at the Olympics any more?
Go with me for a moment down the path that never was. Imagine that for the past seventy-six years, instead of being cancelled, the Olympics of the Arts has grown alongside all the sporting competitions. The boats sailing along the Seine during Friday’s opening ceremony will contain not only elite sports competitors, but the finest talent across the fields of music, literature, sculpture, painting and architecture, as well as dancing and sewing and many other new categories. In the writing section there will have been countless arguments among the selection committees, as well as in the media and across literary circles, about who deserves to be there (no doubt commercial/genre fiction authors will have struggled to get a look in over the past few decades, but may finally have higher numbers this year). All the writers who are chosen will see their work go viral, thanks to their prominence on the world stage, and their active participation in the games is through a series of readings in and around some of the most beautiful landmarks and libraries in Paris. Their books will be displayed in a vast art exhibition hall, which also houses the sculptures and the many expanded categories of painting and drawing, while the dancers and musicians will be performing a series of set pieces in open-air concerts throughout the city and surrounds, before being gradually whittled down to a grand finale in the Stade de France.
It sounds incredible – and also a nightmare to organise! Perhaps the Arts Olympic Games would need their own independent dates and location by now. There would also be many questions and wrangles around judging, categories, entry criteria, and so much more … but, most importantly of all, it would be one of the greatest Arts spectacles in the world. No matter who was chosen to participate, all creatives would benefit from the worldwide adulation of these many forms of artistry, which would be capable of bringing people together with equal intensity and fervour as the sports stars competing alongside them. The Olympics would be a unifying celebration of different cultures and the many expressions of mind and body. Wouldn’t that be something?
Did the decisions of one man really prevent all of this? Or was it also the postwar recovery mindset, where organisers may have been more focused on practical and financial matters than the powerful pull of a life-saving story, the genius of a painting, or the majesty of music that makes you weep. Whatever it was, it feels like the loss of an incredible opportunity, because while there are still countless different celebrations of artistry across our globe, this one would unite us in worldwide appreciation and understanding of how the Arts contribute to every culture on earth. And we could really do with this right now, with the growing pressures on artists to maintain sustainable incomes, the rise of living costs and climate stressors, along with the inevitable infiltration of AI into our lives. We also live increasingly with the consequences of a splintered culture, with countless access points to fast-food-style entertainment, further deriding our enthusiasm and ability to absorb orchestral performances, wander for hours without distraction amongst the floors of galleries, or to sit and read a full-length novel. And yet, none of these challenges diminish the incredible power of creative expression in its myriad forms, to deepen our sense of the world, draw us closer together, and support us in our struggles. The Arts Olympics may have faded from our cultural memory, but on hearing about it, and recognising the possibilities of a world collectively rejoicing in our uniquely human creative abilities, I found a bit more fire in my belly to keep on doing what I’m doing, while championing as many others as I can.
Just for fun, a few more fascinating facts about the Olympics:
The ancient Olympic games ran from approx. 776 BC to approx. 393 AD. The story goes that after one runner lost his loincloth they decided it was easier if they all competed in the nude! (Males only, because women weren’t allowed to compete - or to watch if they were married!) However, it may also have been that clothes symbolised status, and their nakedness was a symbol of equality between the competitors. I suspect there were still other ways the competitors could have been judged - but whatever, this is one tradition firmly consigned to the past!
Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympics in Greece, was also home to one of the seven ancient wonders of the world, the 12.1 metre-tall statue of Zeus, made of ivory plates and gold panels. Unfortunately, by 500AD it had been destroyed, and is known only from the descriptions of ancient writers and from coins of the same period.
The medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics (aside from being frilly at the edges, a bit like those paper plates you get at the supermarket) all have a little bit of the Eiffel Tower in them, as various pieces have been saved over years of reconstruction and are now being put to good use.
The 151 medals won across the Arts categories of the modern Olympics have been struck from the official record tally.