I'm sure the French won't let us down and there will be some pretty special and very French happenings.
From: The Monocle Minute
"It was once customary for Olympic host cities to stage, as part of their Games, demonstration fixtures of some, hopefully, enticing recreations peculiar to the locality (writes Andrew Mueller). In 1908, London offered bicycle polo and duelling; in 1956, Melbourne attempted to interest visitors in Australian rules football; and in 1992, Barcelona served up Basque pelota and roller hockey. This tradition has fallen, sadly, into abeyance and there are no plans to formally revive it for Paris this summer. But in the French capital’s Olympic year, one eccentric local pastime is being revived. Today, for the first time since 2011, the cobbled avenues of the city’s Le Marais district will once again serve as the course around which the Waiters’ Race is run.
First held in 1914, the Waiters’ Race is exactly what it says on the tin. Entrants wear formal waiters’ attire and attempt to bolt about 2km carrying a tray bearing a croissant, a coffee and a glass of water as quickly as possible without dropping anything. It is an extraordinary spectacle, not least as it’s the only time you’ll ever see a Parisian waiter trying to do anything quickly. The comeback of the Waiters’ Race, a few months before the Olympic flame is lit, must surely prompt hopes that it is not too late for uniquely Parisian recreations to be added to the programme. Who would not tune in for the 100 metre shrug, synchronised philosophising or freestyle throwing of café chairs at the gendarmes?"
