Olympic Games Fan Fest Celebration Continues All Weekend in Downtown Calgary

Calgary residents hoping to attend the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris have several ways to join in the festivities in person. But short of traveling to Paris itself, Calgary’s Fan Fest is the best alternative.

On July 26, Stephen Avenue was transformed for Team Canada, featuring taster experiences of some of the sports played in Paris, along with broadcast areas for fans to watch the Olympics, live music performances, and a host of community-focused events and partners to visit and enjoy.

The weekend of programming kicked off with a broadcast of the Opening Ceremony in Paris, hosted by Olympic skater and CEO of Sport Calgary Catriona Le May Doan and Olympic skater Gilmore ‘Gimoy’ Junio.

Le May Doan called it her life’s work to provide sports to the people of Calgary, whether it’s the Olympics or something else.

“I don’t care what level someone is at. I just want people to be active and involved in sports.”

“There is something for everyone, that’s what I preach in my daily work, but let’s inspire people and we know that’s what the games do.”

Calgary was one of three fan festivals celebrating Team Canada. According to Le May Doan, it was the result of some last-minute planning and a reflection of the rebuilding that has taken place in fan experiences after the pandemic years of the Olympics were unable to host events.

“It’s a start. This is something that should have happened, and there are more things to deal with, but this is great if we can get people together.”

“We couldn’t do this in 2020 and 2022. So hopefully we can bring some stories to people to see what goes on behind the scenes. That’s the biggest thing for me. We really want people to realize that the athletes on TV, who represent all Canadians, are real people.”

And hopefully, she said, some demonstrations of sports like fencing and some try-it events, including those for Paralympic sports, will encourage people to try a sport after the Games are over.

“We’re giving people the chance to try it: on August 17th we’re going to have a chance for thousands of kids to try these sports for free. So get inspired by the Olympics. And we’re going to have an Adaptable All Sport One Day, so get inspired by the start of the Paralympics, which is coming up after that, and try something new.”

“Come together as a community. The fact that we couldn’t do this the last two games, the fact that we can come together downtown for free to celebrate the maple leaf and celebrate our community together, what more could you want?”

A little bit of Olympics, a little bit of rock ‘n’ roll

Also on hand at the opening of Fan Fest on July 26 to welcome Calgarians to the festivities were Jasmine Mian, an Olympian and now Ward 3 city councillor, and Mayor Jyoti Gondek.

Mian represented Canada at the 2016 Rio Olympics in wrestling.

Mayor Gondek said the fact that the city was able to host a party on Stephen Avenue for the Canadian athletes during the Games showed that Calgary is a city that takes sports seriously.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re an amateur athlete, a lower league player, a professional athlete or an Olympian like Jasmine, we care about sports in this city.”

“And it’s not just the sport itself, it’s the sense of community that it creates. It’s just getting behind the home team, and we’re all really good at that. We love it.”

Councillor Mian said it was always nice to have an Olympic Summer activation, given how well-known the city is as the home of the Winter Olympics.

“We’re really known as a winter city and we have so many great summer athletes. I think 16 of them are from Calgary. That’s what I’m really excited about, to see people getting involved in summer sports like soccer and cricket, because those are the fastest growing sports in Canada.”

Mayor Gondek said her first memorable Olympic experience was watching the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles with about a dozen children from her extended family. She got excited because there was an athlete with the same name as her who had won a gold medal.

Mayor Gondek said that if given the chance, she would choose skateboarding as her Olympic sport, which made its debut at the 2021 Summer Olympics.

“I’ve been a really bad skateboarder for a long time. And I think if I had four years to dedicate to the craft, I could be good,” she laughed.

Councillor Mian said that it made sense to her as a candidate for the position of mayor.

“Jyoti is a bit rock and roll. I’m not sure if people know that about her.”

For Councillor Mian, the combination of politics and sports began in Calgary City Council.

Her first visit to the council chamber was as a member of the delegation for the 2016 Olympic Games, which was recognised by the council and led at the time by Mayor Naheed Nenshi.

“I came to Calgary because I wanted to go to the Olympics, but I stayed because it’s such a great city and I’m now part of the leadership of this city. Most of the female CEOs have played sports, so I think it’s not just about the aspects of fair play and resilience and character building, I think it’s also about building future leaders.”

“I am therefore very proud that the Olympic Games and Calgary have been part of my leadership story.”

A full schedule of Fan Fest festivities can be found at olympic.ca/fanfest.