Paris Olympics: Opening Ceremony May Be Disrupted
Dozens of dancers due to take part in the ceremony on Friday, July 26, have gone on strike and denounced “the disgraceful pay gap”
The triumphant and colorful start of the 2024 Olympics in Paris may be in doubt. Days before the Olympic opening ceremony, dozens of dancers blocked the main rehearsal on Monday, July 22: the 150 people who were scheduled to perform on the evening of Friday, July 26, refused to dance and remained standing with raised fists to protest pay inequality. As the French news agency France Info wrote, the dancers were “advocating for better working conditions.”
According to French media, a total of about 3000 dancers, musicians, and actors are expected to perform at Friday’s opening ceremony on the Seine in Paris. The source of the protest was a long-standing dispute between the Union of French Artists (SFA) and the organizer of the opening ceremony.
The SFA French Union is a national professional union open to all artists (dramatic, choreographic, opera, pop, circus, puppeteers, and traditional artists), except musicians, instrumentalists, and directors. He is a member of the National Federation of Unions of Audiovisual Spectacles and Cultural Actions of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) and the International Federation of Actors.
According to France Info, the SFA union “went on strike on the day of the opening ceremony,” denouncing the difference in pay between the various dancers. A leading member of the SFA union told the Agence France-Presse news agency that “in order to save money, the Olympic organizing committee hired 300 unreliable dancers on truly shameful terms.”
It is possible that the organizers will have to change the show’s script at the last minute, excluding numbers that will involve rebel dancers.