The movement to include pole dancing as an Olympic sport has its roots in an unlikely place: Ibiza's party scene. Specifically, it began at the Manumission Motel in the late 1990s, where Katie Coates, who later co-founded the International Pole Sports Federation (IPSF), first practiced pole dancing. Coates transitioned pole dancing from its origins in strip clubs to a competitive, athletic practice she called "pole sports." By 2006, she envisioned pole dancing as an Olympic event.
Despite increasing popularity and the formation of national federations, gaining Olympic recognition has been challenging due to the sport's stigma and bureaucratic hurdles. In 2017, pole sports achieved provisional recognition as a sport, but organizational changes have since pushed the goal further out of reach. Observational status was lost in the restructuring of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).
Pole sports, featuring athletes from age 10 to 75, has maintained rigorous standards and rules aligned with the Olympic movement. However, the sport faces significant stigma due to its association with the sex industry, affecting marketing, sponsorship, and acceptance. Critics within the community argue that the effort to desexualize pole sports undermines its origins and alienates sex workers who pioneered the practice.
Pole dancing has a complex history, intertwining with ancient traditions and evolving significantly within the sex industry during the 20th century. Despite its challenges, advocates like Coates believe the athleticism and dedication required for pole sports justify its place in the Olympics. The controversy and fascination surrounding pole dancing could make it a highly-watched event if included in the Games.
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Beyond the struggle for recognition, the community remains divided on whether Olympic inclusion would benefit or sanitize the sport. Some fear it might erase its rich, controversial history, while others hope it could bring legitimacy and resources to the practice. Nonetheless, the fight for Olympic pole sports continues under new leadership, with hopes that one-day pole dancing will stand on the global stage alongside other respected athletic disciplines.
Paris: the Olympic gold medalist of naughtiness.
Revolution ran like a high-voltage wire through the wacky, wonderful, and rule-breaking Olympic opening ceremony that the French capital used to astound, bemuse and, at times, poke a finger in the eye of global audiences on Friday night.
That Paris put on the most flamboyant and diversity-celebrating of opening ceremonies wasn’t a surprise. Anything less would have seemed a betrayal of the pride the French capital takes in being a home to humanity in all its richness.
But still. Wow. Paris didn’t just push the envelope. It did away with it entirely as it hammered home a message that freedom must know no bounds.
A practically naked singer painted blue made thinly veiled references to his body parts. Blonde-bearded drag queen Piche crawled on all fours to the thumping beat of “Freed From Desire” by singer-songwriter Gala, who has long been a potent voice against homophobia. There were the beginnings of a menage à trois — the door was slammed on the camera before things got really steamy — and the tail end of an intimate embrace between two men who danced away, hugging and holding hands.
“In France, we have the right to love each other, as we want and with who we want. In France, we have the right to believe or to not believe. In France, we have a lot of rights. Voila,” said the audacious show’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly.
Jolly, who is gay, says being bullied as a child for supposedly being effeminate drove home early on how unjust discrimination is.
The amorous vibe and impudence were too much for some.
“Know that it is not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation,” posted far-right French politician Marion Maréchal, adding a hashtagged “notinmyname.”
Here’s a closer look at how Paris was both awed and shocked.
A 21st-century update of Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’
DJ and producer Barbara Butch, an LGBTQ+ icon who calls herself a “love activist,” wore a silver headdress that looked like a halo as she got a party going on a footbridge across the Seine, above parading athletes — including those from countries that criminalize LGBTQ+ people. Drag artists, dancers and others flanked Butch on both sides.
The tableau brought to mind Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper,” which depicts the moment when Jesus Christ declared that an apostle would betray him.
Jolly says that wasn’t his intention. He saw the moment as a celebration of diversity, and the table on which Butch spun her tunes as a tribute to feasting and French gastronomy.
“My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock,” Jolly said. “Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide.”
Still, critics couldn’t unsee what they saw.
“One of the main performances of the Olympics was an LGBT mockery of a sacred Christian story - the Last Supper - the last supper of Christ. The apostles were portrayed by transvestites,” the spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, posted on Telegram.
“Apparently, in Paris, they decided that since the Olympic rings are multi-colored, they can turn everything into one big gay parade,” she added.
The French Catholic Church’s conference of bishops deplored what it described as “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity” and said, “our thoughts are with all the Christians from all continents who were hurt by the outrage and provocation of certain scenes.”
LGBTQ+ athletes, though, seemed to have a whale of a time. British diver Tom Daley posted a photo of himself recreating the standout Kate Winslet-Leonardo DiCaprio scene from “Titanic,” only with the roles reversed: He was at the boat’s prow with arms outstretched, as rower Helen Glover held him from behind.
Is that a revolver in your pocket?
When a giant silver dome lifted to reveal singer Philippe Katerine reclining on a crown of fruit and flowers, practically naked and painted blue, audiences who didn’t think he was Papa Smurf may have guessed that he represented Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and ecstasy.
But unless they speak French, they may not have caught the cheekiness of his lyrics.
“Where to hide a revolver when you’re completely naked?” he sang, pointing down to his groin. “I know what you’re thinking. But that’s not a good idea.”
“No more rich and poor when you go back to being naked. Yes,” Katerine continued.
Decades after Brigitte Bardot sang “Naked in the Sun,” this was Paris’ reminder that everyone starts life in their birthday suit, so where’s the shame?
Paris museums are full of paintings that celebrate the human form. Gustave Courbet’s “Origin of the World” hangs in the Musée d’Orsay. The 16th-century “Gabrielle d’Estrées and one of her sisters,” showing one bare-breasted woman pinching the nipple of another, hangs in the Louvre.
France sends a message
Clad in a golden costume, French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura strode confidently out of the hallowed doors of the Institut de France, a prestigious stronghold of French language, culture and commitment to freedom of thought. Even without a note being sung, the message of diversity, inclusion, and Black pride was loud.
The most listened-to French-speaking artist in the world was a target of fierce attacks from extreme-right activists when her name emerged earlier this year as a possible performer at the show. Paris prosecutors opened an investigation of alleged racism targeting the singer.
Nakamura performed with musicians of the French military’s Republican Guard, who danced around her.
Au revoir, closed minds, and stuffy traditions.
Off with their head!
When London hosted the Summer Games in 2012, it paid homage to the British monarchy by giving Queen Elizabeth II a starring role in the opening ceremony. Actor Daniel Craig, in character as James Bond, was shown visiting the head of state at Buckingham Palace before the pair appeared to parachute out of a helicopter over the stadium.
The French love to joyfully tease their neighbors across the English Channel and, perhaps not incidentally, took a totally different, utterly irreverent tack.
A freshly guillotined Marie Antoinette, France’s last queen before the French Revolution of 1789, was shown clutching her severed head, singing: “The aristocrats, we’ll hang them.” Then, heavy metal band Gojira tore the Paris evening with screeching electric guitar.
Freedom: Does anyone do it better than the French?
In an unprecedented display of inclusivity, drag queens took center stage at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, showcasing the vibrant and influential role of the French LGBTQ+ community — while also attracting criticism over a tableau reminiscent of “The Last Supper.”
Held along the Seine River, the spectacular four-hour event featured global stars such as Celine Dion and Lady Gaga, both considered queer icons. The ceremony blended historic and modern French culture with a touch of kitsch, culminating in a flotilla of barges carrying thousands of Olympians.
Nicky Doll, known for competing on the 12th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and hosting “Drag Race France,” participated in a high-octane fashion runway segment along with “Drag Race France” Season 1 winner Paloma, Season 3’s Piche, and Giselle Palmer. Initially, they stood alongside the runway, gazing fiercely at the strutting models. Later, they joined in, showcasing their own style.
Le Filip, the recent winner of “Drag Race France,” expressed their positive “surprise” and “pride” at the ceremony’s scale and representation.
“I thought it would be a five-minute drag event with queer representation. I was amazed. It started with Lady Gaga, then we had drag queens, a huge rave, and a fire in the sky,” they said. “It felt like a crowning all over again. I am proud to see my friends and queer people on the world stage.”
Among their bold performances was a scene that seemed to evoke Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” featuring the drag queens and other performers in a configuration reminiscent of Jesus Christ and his apostles. This segment drew significant attention — and mixed reactions.
“The (French) government knows what it’s doing. They want to show themselves in the best way possible. They showed no restraints in expression,” Le Filip told The Associated Press.
On the other hand, prominent far-right politician Marion Maréchal denounced the performance on social media.
“To all the Christians of the world who are watching the Paris 2024 ceremony and felt insulted by this drag queen parody of the Last Supper, know that it is not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation,” she posted on the social platform X, a sentiment that was echoed by religious conservatives internationally.
“... because decapitating Habsburgs and ridiculising central Christian events are really the FIRST two things that spring to mind when you think of #OlympicGames,” Eduard Habsburg, Hungary’s ambassador to the Vatican, posted on X, also referencing a scene depicting the beheading of Marie Antoinette.
Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the opening ceremony, afterward drew attention away from “The Last Supper” references, saying that hadn’t been his intention.
Le Filip responded to the criticism of the scene with a touch of humor and sorrow.
“It feels like the words of somebody who didn’t get on the guest list. We could all be laughing together. It’s sad to me, honestly,” they said.
Inter-LGBT President James Leperlier was more circumspect, arguing that France still has significant strides to make in inclusivity.
“We know in the LGBTQ community in France we are far from what the ceremony showed. There’s much progress to do in society regarding transgender people. It’s terrible that to legally change their identity they are forced to be on trial,” Leperlier said.
He also highlighted the disparity in acceptance, saying that the community is not visible in other official ceremonies and “has difficulty being heard.”
“If you saw the opening ceremony last night you’d think it was like that normally, but it’s not. France tried to show what it should be and not what it is,” he said.
The opening ceremony came as drag and the voguing nightclub scene in France has experienced a revival. The cabaret club Madame Arthur, founded in 1946 in the ashes of World War II, is one of the world’s oldest continually running LGBTQ+ theaters. It opened as Europe was only just beginning to understand the extent of the widespread murder of members of the queer community in WWII and is currently experiencing a massive renaissance.
Drag is not just a pastime; for many minority French communities who feel alienated over tensions arising from divisive politics and scars from the anti-gay marriage protests a decade ago, it’s a statement of defiance. Many gay Black and Arab youths — especially those from Paris’ less affluent and religiously conservative suburbs — and others who feel a sense of disconnect with French society find voguing and drag events safe places where their identities can be expressed without fear of reprisal.
Despite the backlash, Le Filip believes the opening ceremony will ultimately transcend controversy.
“The message of the show is freedom, and it’s a good postcard for France,” they concluded.
Women's sports fans now have a dedicated space to see women's soccer, the WNBA, and much, much more: Watch Me! Sports Bar opened up in Long Beach on Friday. The establishment made history as the first bar dedicated to women's sports in the state.
Watch Me! joins a growing movement of women's sports bars across the country, starting with Portland's The Sports Bra in 2022. That bar's opening served as a catalyst for others across the country, including Seattle's Rough & Tumble Pub and Minneapolis's A Bar of Their Own.
It's a "femininomenon"
The bar is the brainchild of Jax Diener, who told LAist in March that this has been a dream more than 30 years in the making.
"So the facts are, women actually do support women," Diener said in a speech at the opening ceremony. "We've created this inclusive space for you, the community. You all will shape it. We look forward to seeing how it evolves over time."
Diener said that she'd picked July 26 as an opening date last September, working with vendors, funders, realtors and staff to put together a menu and open the bar in time for this year's Olympics.
Diener and her co-owner and wife Emme Eddy identified the space just two months ago, working to flip it from a Mexican restaurant into a bar space in that short amount of time.
There was no shortage of celebration at the ceremony — one speaker called the opening a "femininomenon" about the Chappell Roan song of the same name. Speakers also highlighted issues facing women's sports, including the pay gap between men's and women's athletes and media rights to show women's sports leagues on TV.
Prominent supporters on opening day
There were even a few prominent women's athletes in the crowd to show their support, including Saskia Webber, who played for the world champion 1999 U.S. women's national team, and Penny Toler, who scored the first free-throw and first three-point shot in WNBA history.
Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson made an appearance along with his two daughters, who briefly got on mic to tell the crowd they play soccer. He stressed how important the space was to the city, especially as the city gets ready to host several Olympic events in 2028, including rowing, sailing, and water polo.
"There was a press release that said I was gonna be in Paris, but there was no way that I was going to miss the opening of the first women's sports bar in the state of California," Richardson said.
And while Watch Me!'s opening was a big moment for Long Beach, the attendees Friday came from all over. Orange County, the South Bay, San Bernardino County, and the city of Los Angeles were all represented in the crowd. People in the crowd hugged and shared remembrances with friends old and new as they watched the ribbon-cutting and waited to take their seats inside the bar.
Nicki Freeman, who said she'd had the opening marked on her calendar since hearing about it in May, stressed how important this bar was for people in the women's sports community.
"This is amazing," Freeman said. "It feels really good. It feels like a community coming together that has been longing for something like this."
The United States captured its first gold medal of the Paris Olympics on Saturday with a victory in the men's 4-by-100 freestyle relay final.
The race pitted the U.S. against a powerhouse Australian foursome that took silver, while
Italy settled for bronze.
The Americans, led by veteran Caeleb Dressel, finished more than a second ahead of the Australians.
This marked Dressel's eighth gold medal.
The U.S. team was rounded out by Jack Alexy, Chris Guiliano, and Hunter Armstrong.
There had been speculation this American team might beat the world record set by Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones, and Jason Lezak in 2008. That didn't happen.
GOT OUR FIRST GOLD 🥇🇺🇸#ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/j9jDrmSQJS
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) July 27, 2024
U.S. women swimmers take silver in relay final
The victory for the U.S. came as part of a long-running rivalry between the U.S. and Australia that was at a fever pitch on Saturday.
Australia won gold in the women's 4-by-100 relay, a race where the U.S. captured silver.
In that race, the U.S. women set a new American record.
"It was a goal of ours to break the American record and get as close to the Australians as we could, and so we're really happy with that performance," said U.S. swimmer Simone Manuel.
Earlier at La Defense Arena in Paris, Australian Ariarne Titmus took gold in a dominant performance in the 400-meter freestyle race.
Katie Ledecky of the U.S. took bronze behind Canada's Summer McIntosh's silver medal finish.