Music Gets Waterlogged at the Olympic Opening Ceremony

00;00;00;00 - 00;00;50;26
Mark Conrad
Hello and welcome to the Sports Business Podcast with Prof. C, the podcast that explores the world of professional, collegiate, amateur, and Olympic sports. I'm Mark Conrad or Prof. C from Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business, where I serve as Professor of Law and Ethics and the Director of the Sports Business Initiative. The Olympic Movement takes itself very seriously. The often portentous opening ceremonies that make up a part of every Olympiad involves a keynote speech by the President of the International Olympic Committee.

00;00;50;28 - 00;01;27;07
Mark Conrad
This address espouses the unifying ideals and goals of a competition of athletes from all over the world. The address touts respect for the participants in an atmosphere of healthy competition, and there is a hearty thank you for the Olympic organizers for crafting the logistics of this huge event. With all the pomp and circumstance, I wish the Olympic organizers showed at least a modicum of respect for the musicians who performed at the opening ceremonies and the instruments they used.

00;01;27;10 - 00;01;59;26
Mark Conrad
For those of you who watched these ceremonies marked a departure from past versions. Athletes were sailed down the Seine River, and this voyage was interspersed with various allusions to French history and character that ranged from interesting to kitschy to offensive. The biggest positive was the conclusion, a triumphant and moving performance by Celine Dion that brought this hard boiled veteran of Olympic ceremonies to tears.

00;01;59;29 - 00;02;40;10
Mark Conrad
But back to the musicians. As the NBC announcers finally had to admit, it rained in Paris during the opening ceremony. It rained quite hard. The French National Orchestra performed the Olympic hymn in pouring rain, wearing ponchos for their bodies, but with no protection for their instruments, which were deluged with water. Other musical performances were also affected. A solo flutist performed the Marseillaise, and a wonderful piano soloist performed Ravel's Jeux d’eau, which ironically translates to Water Games, and that's suffered from the weather.

00;02;40;13 - 00;03;13;01
Mark Conrad
The deluge exposed the performers and the instruments to a constant flow of water. Any musician will tell you that this is a cardinal sin. Water is the worst enemy for all musical instruments, but especially strings, woodwinds, and pianos. It destroys an instrument. That piano was basically gone. The violins, cellos and basses of the orchestra are wood scrap. Oboes and clarinets cannot be saved without major reworking.

00;03;13;03 - 00;03;38;00
Mark Conrad
While it is likely that the orchestra members did not use their own instruments, which are often worth tens of thousands of dollars, but use cheaper substitutes, that is no excuse. Musical instruments are to be respected, along with the musicians. The organizers could have hoisted a canopy at the very least, or simply prerecorded the orchestra in the event of bad weather.

00;03;38;03 - 00;04;07;09
Mark Conrad
They certainly did not need an in-person orchestra to play that Olympic anthem. For a musician, the instrument is an extension of themselves. It is not a toy, nor a prop, but a vehicle to express oneself. I can tell you from personal experience, if I had my piano or any piano treated as a disposable one use item, that is not just upsetting, but it's sacrilegious.

00;04;07;11 - 00;04;35;08
Mark Conrad
Every professional and amateur musician I know, and I have heard from a few in the days since the opening ceremony, would react the same way. Some criticism has appeared in journals that specialize in art music, but little in the general media. As Czech violist Anežka Kroupová noted, “Nope..not even with cheap instruments. It's still an instrument that has a soul

00;04;35;15 - 00;05;04;29
Mark Conrad
and it breaks my heart.” To have instruments ruined because the organizers did not care to find ways to protect the players and their instruments from a weather condition that was foreseeable is an insult and profound lack of respect by the Olympic movement. It should never happen again. Any thoughts? Send them to me at [email protected]. And thank you for listening.

00;05;05;02 - 00;05;21;03
Mark Conrad
Until next time, this is Prof. C for the Gabelli Sports Business Initiative.