Paris Olympics... an opportunity lost?

[mason]

By now, most of you will have watched the rain-affected Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Even on the TV, I could see how heavy the rain was - and it wasn't just a series of passing showers. It was a fully fledged downpour.

Many of the athletes went home early after fulfilling their obligations, and large sections of seating were also empty as well. Both really detracted from the overall spectacle towards the end. One of the major reasons for this was the totally inadequate flimsy, light plastic ponchos issued to the athletes and spectators. Their ponchos were worse than simply useless, particularly when they billowed outwards in the wind. Apart from being bloody ugly, they simply do not keep anyone dry.

Can you imagine how much drier (and happier) everyone would have been with proper rainwear? Given the prices being charged (in the thousands for some seats), providing decent transparent see-through waterproof rainwear would have neither been here or there, in terms of the cost.

In as much as I'm biased here, given fashion forms a huge element of French culture, why could they not have produced, high quality, stylish glass-clear plastic raincoats with proper belts, buttons and tie-hoods for the event? Can you just imagine how good they would have looked over their team uniforms? The spectators could have been given proper rainsuits incorporating waterproof over-pants to keep their butts dry on the waterlogged seats.

What a pity no one bothered to think this (weather protection) through. Definitely an opportunity lost here.

[Tiefdruckgebiet]

Yesterday I watched the livestreams of the ITT bike races men and women. The rainy conditons were hard, some riders crashed several times on the slippery tarmac. I noticed I think a woman wearing a probably more modern yellow rain slicker watching the race, but indeed all other specators seemed to wear either those creepy one-way garbage ponchos or modern functional Gore-Tex class jackets. Disappointing, but the bike competition was nice to watch as I love to ride a TT bike for my own as a hobby.

[Cherie]

I bet the French authorities had a nightmare of a job disposing of thousands of discarded crap ponchos. Hate to say it, but this may have been an opportunity for Temu! I bet they could have bought thousands of better (but not good) raincoats for the same price as they paid for those cellophane monstrosities. Athletes I can understand with their team kit, but everyone should have checked the forecast and come suitably attired without the need for free handouts.

I think the whole thing of using the river didn’t work. Ok nice to see the mechanical horse but after a while it was just boring. The constant back and forth between Louvre and Eiffel Tower was irritating, especially as no shiny rainwear to enjoy watching.

Maybe a Rainwear Central member should have been on the weather planning committee! I hope the next games will be held in a suitably temperate climate location with a chance of downpours!

Cherie x

[Tiefdruckgebiet]

Go to a bigger city downtown area (best with a pedestrian zone) and have a look what people are wearing on a rainy day - here in Germany you can see some few women wearing the modern shorter coats like Schmuddelwedda or Derbe, almost no long coats longer than knee length, and absolutely no vintage raincoats like the Rukka ones. Even the former famous Klepper coats have disappeared completely. Sightings for 99 % women, almost no men wearing oldschool style raincoats made from rubber or pvc at all. The masses today are too dumb to dress for rain. When I wanna watch a sports competition outdoors like yesterdays time trial races and it is raining or the forecast says it will I don't leave the house without a suitable raincoat or cape.

[WealdenMac]

The Channel Four Formula 1 presenter, Ariana Bravo, came well prepared for the wet at Spa on Friday, wearing a very long, hooded, press stud fastening on the front and flap pockets, fully elasticated sleeve, beige raincoat. Probably not a "mackintosh" in our sense of the word but very attractive and appropriate nevertheless.

[mason]

It was a very cold and drizzly day in Melbourne, so I took the opportunity to enjoy a rainy day walk in my long Stutterheim mac and FarmerRain bib-pants this afternoon.

My raincoat was soaking wet on the outside after just 10 minutes of this light drizzle. I cannot imagine how the athletes and spectators, in their awful, thin ponchos, coped in this fully fledged Paris downpour. No wonder so many went home early.