[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":596},["ShallowReactive",2],{"news-the-right-to-the-outdoors":3},{"title":4,"summary":5,"primaryImage":6,"heroImage":24,"heroTagline":34,"newsTags":35,"postDate":49,"location":50,"author":51,"authorLink":52,"intro":56,"slices5":57,"presentedBy":147,"partners":151,"withRelatedNews":48,"relatedNews":156,"tags":592,"id":594,"publishedDate":595},"The Right to the Outdoors","Dr Beatriz Garcia explores the tension between the right to artistic production and creation, and residents’ right to rest when it comes to noise from outdoor arts, as well as how local governments balance these rights.",{"dimensions":7,"alt":10,"copyright":10,"url":11,"id":12,"edit":13,"meta":17},{"width":8,"height":9},4000,3000,null,"https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fwalktheplank\u002FajVHgI1P9HI4Uu6g_IMG_3305.JPG?auto=format%2Ccompress&w=4000&h=3000","ajVHgI1P9HI4Uu6g",{"x":14,"y":14,"zoom":15,"background":16},0,1,"transparent",{"dimensions":18,"alt":10,"copyright":10,"url":21,"id":12,"edit":22},{"width":19,"height":20},1200,630,"https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fwalktheplank\u002FajVHgI1P9HI4Uu6g_IMG_3305.JPG?auto=format%2Ccompress&rect=0%2C813%2C4032%2C2117&w=1200&h=630",{"x":14,"y":23,"zoom":15,"background":16},813,{"dimensions":25,"alt":10,"copyright":10,"url":27,"id":12,"edit":28,"portrait":30},{"width":8,"height":26},2850,"https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fwalktheplank\u002FajVHgI1P9HI4Uu6g_IMG_3305.JPG?auto=format%2Ccompress&rect=0%2C76%2C4032%2C2873&w=4000&h=2850",{"x":14,"y":29,"zoom":15,"background":16},76,{"dimensions":31,"alt":10,"copyright":10,"url":32,"id":12,"edit":33},{"width":26,"height":8},"https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fwalktheplank\u002FajVHgI1P9HI4Uu6g_IMG_3305.JPG?auto=format%2Ccompress&rect=0%2C0%2C2155%2C3024&w=2850&h=4000",{"x":14,"y":14,"zoom":15,"background":16},[],[36],{"newsTag":37},{"id":38,"type":39,"tags":40,"lang":41,"slug":42,"first_publication_date":43,"last_publication_date":43,"uid":42,"data":44,"link_type":46,"key":47,"isBroken":48},"ZICbOhAAACEAg-h0","newsTag",[],"en-gb","thoughts","2023-06-07T14:59:09+0000",{"title":45},"Thoughts","Document","9862a48c-f0b9-40a6-a51f-d502e2be0571",false,"2026-06-18T23:00:00+0000","Barcelona, Spain","Dr Beatriz Garcia, Chair, Walk the Plank and International expert on mega events, cities & culture",{"link_type":53,"key":54,"url":55},"Web","197f5498-bf08-4013-940d-2132b6a8133a","https:\u002F\u002Fuk.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fdrbgarcia",[],[58,80,103],{"variation":59,"version":60,"items":61,"primary":62,"id":78,"slice_type":79,"slice_label":10},"default","initial",[],{"heading":10,"body":63},[64,69,72,75],{"type":65,"text":66,"spans":67,"direction":68},"paragraph","I'm back from Barcelona, where Primavera Pro — the industry conference that runs alongside Primavera Sound — brought together over 3,200 music professionals for three days of debate about where the live music sector is heading. Amid panels on AI, rights management and the global rise of African music, one session stayed with me longer than the rest: a discussion on acoustic regulation that, almost by accident, turned into a conversation about who gets to use the outdoor space of a city, and on what terms.",[],"ltr",{"type":65,"text":70,"spans":71,"direction":68},"The starting premise was familiar. Festivals generate noise; noise disturbs residents; residents organise. At Parc del Fòrum — Primavera Sound's home for two decades — a residents' platform called Stop Concerts has spent years campaigning against the festival's impact on the surrounding neighbourhoods, at one point pursuing legal action aimed at shutting down one of its stages. It's a story that will be recognisable from almost any city that hosts outdoor events: the right to rest versus the right to make, and hear, music.",[],{"type":65,"text":73,"spans":74,"direction":68},"What made this particular discussion different was the way one speaker reframed it. Lluís Torrents — co-director of Razzmatazz and president of the Associació de Sales de Concerts de Catalunya (ASACC) — argued that residents' right to rest is not the only right in play. The Spanish Constitution, he pointed out, also protects \"the right to artistic production and creation\" (Article 20.2) and commits public authorities to \"promote and safeguard access to culture, to which everyone is entitled\" (Article 44). The lawyer Belén Álvarez, also on the panel, took this further: the articles of the Constitution covering fundamental rights receive special protection, and when a resident's right to an inviolable home collides with an audience's or an artist's right to cultural participation, the law has so far had no consistent mechanism for weighing one against the other.",[],{"type":65,"text":76,"spans":77,"direction":68},"This is the \"cultural rights\" framing Torrents put forward — not a dismissal of residents' grievances, but an insistence that culture is itself a right, and one too often treated as the most dispensable item on the list when rights collide.",[],"text_block$130d57e4-b3cb-458a-8ed3-0831396fb057","text_block",{"variation":59,"version":60,"items":81,"primary":100,"id":101,"slice_type":102,"slice_label":10},[82,89,94],{"image":83,"caption":88},{"dimensions":84,"alt":10,"copyright":10,"url":85,"id":86,"edit":87},{"width":8,"height":26},"https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fwalktheplank\u002FajvA2VbRV8_Qfz6P_IMG_3159.JPG?auto=format,compress&rect=0,76,4032,2873&w=4000&h=2850","ajvA2VbRV8_Qfz6P",{"x":14,"y":29,"zoom":15,"background":16},"Dr Beatriz Garcia at Primavera Sound, Barcelona, 2026",{"image":90,"caption":88},{"dimensions":91,"alt":10,"copyright":10,"url":92,"id":12,"edit":93},{"width":8,"height":26},"https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fwalktheplank\u002FajVHgI1P9HI4Uu6g_IMG_3305.JPG?auto=format,compress&rect=0,76,4032,2873&w=4000&h=2850",{"x":14,"y":29,"zoom":15,"background":16},{"image":95,"caption":88},{"dimensions":96,"alt":10,"copyright":10,"url":97,"id":98,"edit":99},{"width":8,"height":26},"https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fwalktheplank\u002FajVHn41P9HI4Uu6m_IMG_3135.JPG?auto=format,compress&rect=0,76,4032,2873&w=4000&h=2850","ajVHn41P9HI4Uu6m",{"x":14,"y":29,"zoom":15,"background":16},{},"image_carousel_block$652a6af3-4363-4a78-9999-0e53a8917b24","image_carousel_block",{"variation":59,"version":60,"items":104,"primary":105,"id":146,"slice_type":79,"slice_label":10},[],{"heading":10,"body":106},[107,110,113,116,119,122],{"type":65,"text":108,"spans":109,"direction":68},"What's striking is how quickly this single dispute scaled into something much larger. The trigger was what panellists called \"the Bernabéu effect\": after acoustic complaints around Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu stadium, courts began holding the municipal administration — not just event promoters — liable for noise generated at venues they had licensed. Catalan regulators, anticipating similar exposure, began drafting a highly restrictive noise decree to limit their own liability. But ASACC pointed out an inconvenient consequence: in Catalonia, the largest single promoter of outdoor music isn't a private company — it's the public administration itself, through Festes de Gràcia, Festes de Sants, the Mercat de Música Viva de Vic, and the dozens of Festes Majors (and New Year's Eve gatherings) that structure the Catalan civic calendar. A decree designed to rein in festivals like Primavera Sound would, almost incidentally, have made much of the city's own traditional festive life illegal.",[],{"type":65,"text":111,"spans":112,"direction":68},"That paradox — local government nearly legislating itself out of its own festive calendar — is what forced the issue back onto the table. After several years of negotiation, Catalonia has reportedly reached the basis of a new noise decree, due to take effect next year. Its key innovation is procedural rather than numerical: rather than a blanket cap, decisions to restrict an event will require a \"balancing judgment\" (juicio de ponderación) weighing residents' rights against cultural rights case by case. Álvarez framed this as a precedent Catalonia might set for the rest of Spain, linking it to the 2023 Cáceres Declaration, in which EU culture ministries committed to treating culture as an essential public good. Technology is doing some of the work too: directional sound systems, discussed at the same conference by the consultancy Axioma, can now aim sound at an audience rather than letting it spill into neighbouring streets — making traditional decibel limiters look almost redundant for a festival the size of Primavera Sound.",[],{"type":65,"text":114,"spans":115,"direction":68},"None of this guarantees a happy ending elsewhere. Days before Primavera Pro convened, Valencia's Festival de les Arts had its second day cancelled outright after losing a court case over noise — a reminder of what happens when this balance is never struck. Primavera Sound itself closed its 2026 edition with attendance slightly down on the previous year, but having just secured a new agreement to remain at Parc del Fòrum until 2030.",[],{"type":65,"text":117,"spans":118,"direction":68},"So: how do we strike the right balance, and how do we protect the value of festivals? The Barcelona case suggests one answer — not by pretending the tension between rest and revelry can be engineered away, but by building legal, technological and political mechanisms sophisticated enough to weigh both seriously. The \"right to the outdoors\" turns out to be plural: a city's public space is claimed simultaneously by those who live beside it and those who animate it, often for only a handful of nights a year. Getting that balance right isn't a side issue for cultural policy — for cities that depend on festivals, Festes Majors and New Year's Eve crowds alike, it is cultural policy, worked out at the level of decibels.",[],{"type":65,"text":120,"spans":121,"direction":68},"",[],{"type":65,"text":123,"spans":124,"direction":68},"Dr Beatriz Garcia, Chair, Walk the Plank and International expert on mega events, cities & culture | LinkedIn | Website | Author Euphoric Cities",[125,128,130,137,142],{"start":14,"end":126,"type":127},144,"em",{"start":14,"end":126,"type":129},"strong",{"start":131,"end":132,"type":133,"data":134},101,109,"hyperlink",{"link_type":53,"url":135,"target":136},"https:\u002F\u002Feur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\u002F?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fdrbgarcia%2F&data=05%7C02%7C%7C0307f279a8b24d3656a508de84051a9e%7Cb6db2c8aea474ff38cc0ebad187c4be4%7C1%7C0%7C639093354634009938%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=oitpEOlaZXP3GL0uEMparhdF5%2FO6nBX7MDe%2FSp7OSSE%3D&reserved=0","_self",{"start":138,"end":139,"type":133,"data":140},112,119,{"link_type":53,"url":141,"target":136},"https:\u002F\u002Feur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\u002F?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.beatrizgarcia.net%2F&data=05%7C02%7C%7C0307f279a8b24d3656a508de84051a9e%7Cb6db2c8aea474ff38cc0ebad187c4be4%7C1%7C0%7C639093354634001790%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Lba06RO7%2FB4vd3YJ1Af%2BkbNkt%2B8sNklfdM%2FpdYCAwaQ%3D&reserved=0",{"start":143,"end":126,"type":133,"data":144},129,{"link_type":53,"url":145,"target":136},"https:\u002F\u002Fdrbeatrizgarcia.substack.com\u002F","text_block$b04aafee-4d13-47a3-8326-3ce5f99aa229",[148],{"link":149,"label":10,"logo":150},{"link_type":53},{},[152],{"link":153,"label":10,"logo":155},{"link_type":154},"Any",{},[157,445],{"id":158,"postDate":159,"type":160,"uid":161,"author":162,"presentedBy":163,"authorLink":167,"slices5":169,"withRelatedNews":409,"title":410,"relatedNews":411,"primaryImage":414,"summary":425,"heroImage":426,"partners":436,"newsTags":440},"aYtFLhAAACUAj5Ab","2026-02-26T11:05:00+0000","news","reimagining-olympic-spectacle","Dr Beatriz Garcia, Chair, Walk the Plank and International expert on mega events, cities & culture ",[164],{"link":165,"label":10,"logo":166},{"link_type":53},{},{"link_type":53,"key":168,"url":55},"f144f005-5b84-491f-ac5f-79f381229175",[170,184,242,255,292,304,342],{"variation":59,"version":60,"items":171,"primary":172,"id":183,"slice_type":79,"slice_label":10},[],{"heading":10,"body":173},[174,177,180],{"type":65,"text":175,"spans":176,"direction":68},"The Paris 2024 opening ceremony was a bold reimagining of Olympic spectacle — moving beyond the stadium to stage a flamboyant, culturally rich, and politically resonant show across the Seine and Paris’s iconic landmarks.",[],{"type":65,"text":178,"spans":179,"direction":68},"The ceremony succeeded in delivering a visually stunning, emotionally rich, deeply French narrative — with widespread praise for its audacity and artistry. But it also revealed the limits of such ambition: visibility issues, pacing problems, weather, and overexposure of provocative segments diluted the live experience and provoked controversy.",[],{"type":65,"text":181,"spans":182,"direction":68},"In embracing the public realm, the ceremony redefined what an Olympic opening can be — but at the cost of the tight coherence and controlled spectacle a stadium provides. In this article, I discuss why, despite these challenges, embracing the city as the main stage of historic event landmarks is deeply meaningful and relevant to the event's cultural legacy.",[],"text_block$e0cc2acf-4226-43fd-9415-f9866e04083a",{"variation":59,"version":60,"items":185,"primary":186,"id":241,"slice_type":79,"slice_label":10},[],{"heading":10,"body":187},[188,193,199,202,209,214,219,224,227,232,238],{"type":65,"text":189,"spans":190,"direction":68},"Games wide open in Paris 2024 | 'Ouvrons grand les jeux'",[191],{"start":14,"end":192,"type":129},56,{"type":65,"text":194,"spans":195,"direction":68},"For the first time in Olympic history, the Opening Ceremony for the 2024 Games moved out of the stadium and onto the streets, waters, and landmarks of Paris. On the 26 July 2024, the river Seine became the main stage, with iconic backdrops telling a story that was at once ambitious, imaginative, and deeply French.",[196],{"start":197,"end":198,"type":127},85,103,{"type":65,"text":200,"spans":201,"direction":68},"Reactions were as diverse as the show itself:",[],{"type":203,"text":204,"spans":205,"direction":68},"list-item","The arts community celebrated a bold vision of cultural storytelling in public space.",[206],{"start":207,"end":208,"type":129},4,18,{"type":203,"text":210,"spans":211,"direction":68},"The French public took pride in seeing their city centre transformed into a shared world stage.",[212],{"start":207,"end":213,"type":129},17,{"type":203,"text":215,"spans":216,"direction":68},"International guests and Olympic sponsors were more cautious, however, with many finding the experience fragmented and challenging.",[217],{"start":14,"end":218,"type":129},41,{"type":203,"text":220,"spans":221,"direction":68},"And the media offered mixed coverage, highlighting the ceremony’s cultural and artistic ambition as well as noting its many logistical and interpretation challenges",[222],{"start":14,"end":223,"type":129},38,{"type":65,"text":225,"spans":226,"direction":68},"The question thus remains: with such an ambitious event, can this model – a global Olympic ceremony happening within the city as multivenue  - shape future Games openings?",[],{"type":65,"text":228,"spans":229,"direction":68},"The city vs the stadium as iconic stage:  Are there tensions? Why does this matter?",[230],{"start":14,"end":231,"type":129},83,{"type":65,"text":233,"spans":234,"direction":68},"The Paris ceremony was not just an event, but a test case for reimagining how cities can host culture at scale. By placing culture into the urban fabric, organisers expanded access, created powerful images, and broke the mould of stadium spectacle. But they also exposed the risks: complex logistics, security trade-offs, visibility issues, and controversies around provocative imagery that was easily misunderstood.",[235],{"start":236,"end":237,"type":127},74,110,{"type":65,"text":239,"spans":240,"direction":68},"Find below a summary of the most dominant expressions of added-value vs the most widely noted challenges of staging this Olympic ceremony across multiple sites in the public realm.",[],"text_block$062294c1-ba4d-4bd4-8ef8-ecc005f4ffbe",{"variation":59,"version":60,"items":243,"primary":253,"id":254,"slice_type":102,"slice_label":10},[244],{"image":245,"caption":252},{"dimensions":246,"alt":247,"copyright":10,"url":248,"id":249,"edit":250},{"width":8,"height":26},"Actors in large bustling red gowns perform from 8 windows in the Gothic revival style. The actors are headless. Red streamers fill the foreground.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fwalktheplank\u002FaaAekcFoBIGEg2qU_Image3.png?auto=format,compress&rect=44,0,1272,906&w=4000&h=2850","aaAekcFoBIGEg2qU",{"x":251,"y":14,"zoom":15,"background":16},44,"Decapitated Marie Antoinettes perform from the windows of the very place, la Conciergerie, where the original queen awaited her fate.",{},"image_carousel_block$ea6f8a0c-ae8f-4114-8e6e-3401fd332847",{"variation":59,"version":60,"items":256,"primary":257,"id":291,"slice_type":79,"slice_label":10},[],{"heading":258,"body":259},"Added Value",[260,265,268,272,275,280,283,288],{"type":203,"text":261,"spans":262,"direction":68},"Accessibility & symbolism: ",[263],{"start":14,"end":264,"type":129},25,{"type":65,"text":266,"spans":267,"direction":68},"Using public spaces like the Seine and its surrounding landmarks democratized the ceremony — literally bringing the Games into the heart of the city — while highlighting Paris’s heritage in a way a stadium couldn’t. This was significant and arguably ‘necessary’ to fulfil the Paris 2024 vision of a ‘Games Wide Open’",[],{"type":203,"text":269,"spans":270,"direction":68},"Cultural immersion: ",[271],{"start":14,"end":208,"type":129},{"type":65,"text":273,"spans":274,"direction":68},"The sliding panorama of Paris monuments, the live boat parade, and performances at Notre-Dame, Conciergerie, and the Eiffel Tower made this ceremony uniquely French and visually spectacular",[],{"type":203,"text":276,"spans":277,"direction":68},"Emotional resonance: ",[278],{"start":14,"end":279,"type":129},19,{"type":65,"text":281,"spans":282,"direction":68},"For many, the drama and stakes of a nontraditional setting made the spectacle come alive in ways never experienced before — reinforcing themes of diversity, communal identity, and artistic ambition",[],{"type":203,"text":284,"spans":285,"direction":68},"Global applause: ",[286],{"start":14,"end":287,"type":129},15,{"type":65,"text":289,"spans":290,"direction":68},"Leaders worldwide noted the ceremony's boldness and creativity — the kind of spectacle that made Paris’s opening ceremony stand out and completely in line with what the world expects from such a world city.",[],"text_block$b224d086-41fb-4f70-9472-66668a058907",{"variation":59,"version":60,"items":293,"primary":302,"id":303,"slice_type":102,"slice_label":10},[294],{"image":295,"caption":10},{"dimensions":296,"alt":297,"copyright":10,"url":298,"id":299,"edit":300},{"width":8,"height":26},"A table with 3 columns, one in pink, green, and orange which is filled with text","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fwalktheplank\u002FaaAx78FoBIGEg246_Untitleddesign-6-.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&rect=20%2C0%2C1120%2C798&w=4000&h=2850","aaAx78FoBIGEg246",{"x":301,"y":14,"zoom":15,"background":16},20,{},"image_carousel_block$a460f608-a0ca-49e3-b020-ec6bc1b221d7",{"variation":59,"version":60,"items":305,"primary":306,"id":341,"slice_type":79,"slice_label":10},[],{"heading":307,"body":308},"Challenges",[309,314,317,321,324,328,331,335,338],{"type":203,"text":310,"spans":311,"direction":68},"Visibility & coherence: ",[312],{"start":14,"end":313,"type":129},22,{"type":65,"text":315,"spans":316,"direction":68},"Without a central vantage point, and with interventions happening across multiple spaces over more than 6 kilometres, many in the audience had only partial visibility and they could only experience specific fragments live. The need for screens to contextualise the show diluted the “live” experience – and many indicated that the sound systems were not strong enough for the verbal narrative to be followed in full.",[],{"type":203,"text":318,"spans":319,"direction":68},"Length & pacing: ",[320],{"start":14,"end":287,"type":129},{"type":65,"text":322,"spans":323,"direction":68},"The sprawling format resulted in a long show that some viewers found draining or directionless. Although this is a common challenge for Olympic Opening Ceremonies, whose central mission is to welcome athletes from over 205 nations, this was felt more acutely in Paris as the culture segments ran alongside the athletes parade from the start, rather than be concentrated as one specific and condensed segment in the proceedings.",[],{"type":203,"text":325,"spans":326,"direction":68},"Logistics & weather: ",[327],{"start":14,"end":279,"type":129},{"type":65,"text":329,"spans":330,"direction":68},"Rain impacted attendance comfort and technical execution; staging across multiple sites created logistical complexity; security and seating restrictions reduced access to 300,000 spectators from the initially planned 600,000. It is worth noting, however, that no other Olympic ceremony had ever reached out to so many live spectators – with stadia holding 50,000 to 90,000 people as a maximum.",[],{"type":203,"text":332,"spans":333,"direction":68},"Interpretation risks: ",[334],{"start":14,"end":301,"type":129},{"type":65,"text":336,"spans":337,"direction":68},"Provocative imagery in a public, highly visible space increased the potential for offence and controversy, leading to backlash and apologies.",[],{"type":65,"text":339,"spans":340,"direction":68},"The table below summarises the main topics being debated when judging the pros and cons of this ambitious ceremony format:",[],"text_block$cc89a672-bcb1-41b1-ab62-7f00f7f43698",{"variation":59,"version":60,"items":343,"primary":344,"id":408,"slice_type":79,"slice_label":10},[],{"heading":345,"body":346},"Going forwards… what is the legacy?",[347,350,353,358,364,369,372,375,378,383,386,389,392,394,396,406],{"type":65,"text":348,"spans":349,"direction":68},"The Paris Olympic Opening Ceremony sets an important precedent for future Games and raises critical questions about the purpose of staging highly symbolic spectacle to mark the start of globally significant sporting competitions.",[],{"type":65,"text":351,"spans":352,"direction":68},"This experience opens multiple areas of debate when it comes to conceiving future major and mega event openings:",[],{"type":65,"text":354,"spans":355,"direction":68},"The first is around formats: using the city itself as a stage has long been an ambition for cultural operators and artistic directors when asked to capture the essence of a city, a place and a time, translating this into a global spectacle with historical resonance. It is important to reflect about why capturing the essence of the place hosting a major event matters to so many. Analysts should appreciate the praise Paris received on this front, and how it compares with the kind of praise received by previous, stadium-hosted ceremonies. The overall conclusion is that, from a cultural significance and artistic innovation point of view, Paris went further than its predecessors and made the host city a protagonist in deeply meaningful ways.",[356],{"start":301,"end":357,"type":129},27,{"type":65,"text":359,"spans":360,"direction":68},"Another area relates to content: exploring diverse, arts-driven stories and making them enter mainstream narratives was another defining contribution of this ceremony. Paris made thematic choices that some considered challenging and the complexity of their staging added additional layers to how the stories told were experienced and understood. This ceremony had a narrative structure that defied convention as performances took place alongside the athletes parade, and performance locations were central to the story itself. Many in the arts world have praised the vision behind such narrative construct, but Games stakeholders – and sport commentators – were at times lost or felt negatively provoked.",[361],{"start":362,"end":363,"type":129},24,31,{"type":65,"text":365,"spans":366,"direction":68},"These two areas of discussion point at what could be considered the most important legacy of this ceremony: the realisation that mediation and interpretation is key to the success of iconic global spectacle if new formats are being attempted.",[367],{"start":143,"end":368,"type":129},157,{"type":65,"text":370,"spans":371,"direction":68},"For over a century, the core structure and format of Olympic opening ceremonies has been retained, with minimal variations. The ‘artistic’ or cultural component of the ceremony has been traditionally presented as part of a welcoming segment that comes to an end early in the proceedings, to give way to the parade of nations (or ‘athletes’ parade’), followed by the official speeches, raising of the Olympic flag, oaths and lighting of the cauldron. All of this is presented within the neat confines of a stadium and the main challenge, for organisers, is how to manage and maintain attention for the parade of more than 200 nations, which tends to expand over two hours.",[],{"type":65,"text":373,"spans":374,"direction":68},"Paris changed this format completely, by blending the athletes’ parade with the artistic programme thus placing its cultural and artistic narrative – as well as the city itself - at the heart of the full ceremony rather than as a brief introduction. Protocol segments, from the arrival of the Olympic flag to the lighting of the cauldron were a continuum of the artistic programme, with creatively conceived creatures and objects – a symbolic Jeanne d’Arc over a mechanical horse, a magnificent air balloon floating high over the city – taking over and transforming key aspects of Olympic protocol as well.",[],{"type":65,"text":376,"spans":377,"direction":68},"All of these creative decisions, and the critical role played by Paris landmarks throughout all of them, were carefully crafted by the creative team. However, those experiencing the show live and those narrating the show to media audiences live, had little time to prepare – and no previous referent whatsoever. While the average contemporary arts scene audience tends to welcome the unexpected, Olympic ceremony audiences – in particular, Olympic guests and Olympic partners – are used to established traditions and tend to read the value of the ceremony as part of a heritage continuum with previous editions. Sport audiences, sport commentators and key Games stakeholders (the Olympic family) give prime attention to the stories behind the athlete delegations rather than the artistic segments.",[],{"type":65,"text":379,"spans":380,"direction":68},"Managing expectations",[381],{"start":14,"end":382,"type":129},21,{"type":65,"text":384,"spans":385,"direction":68},"The level of artistic ambition and the complexity of the setting in Paris thus required a more detailed introduction and preparation. Olympic stakeholders and spectators were told about the unique opportunity to experience an Olympic ceremony across the river Seine. But few were prepared for the many layers of narrative that ensued – and the extraordinary wealth of locations with unique heritage taking centre stage, simultaneously. (Not to mention the extreme weather).",[],{"type":65,"text":387,"spans":388,"direction":68},"The ultimate question remains: how will future Olympic ceremony hosts balance their capacity for openness, inclusivity with that of accessibility and control; how will they balance artistic vision with operational feasibility; and how much encouragement will they receive to continue innovating and reimagining what is possible as opposed to the desire to follow established traditions and recognised formats?",[],{"type":65,"text":390,"spans":391,"direction":68},"Paris 2024 reimagined the Olympic Opening Ceremony not as a spectacle confined to a stadium, but as a city-wide act of cultural storytelling. It was bold, resonant, and globally visible — yet operationally fragile. Its legacy may not lie in offering a definitive new model, but in opening space for future hosts to question the balance between tradition and innovation, control and openness, ceremony and spectacle. In doing so, Paris has shifted expectations: the Opening Ceremony is no longer just an introduction to the Games, but a powerful cultural stage in its own right — one that challenges organisers, audiences, and the Olympic movement to rethink what is possible.",[],{"type":65,"text":120,"spans":393,"direction":68},[],{"type":65,"text":120,"spans":395,"direction":68},[],{"type":65,"text":123,"spans":397,"direction":68},[398,399,400,402,404],{"start":14,"end":126,"type":127},{"start":14,"end":126,"type":129},{"start":131,"end":132,"type":133,"data":401},{"link_type":53,"url":135,"target":136},{"start":138,"end":139,"type":133,"data":403},{"link_type":53,"url":141,"target":136},{"start":143,"end":126,"type":133,"data":405},{"link_type":53,"url":145,"target":136},{"type":65,"text":120,"spans":407,"direction":68},[],"text_block$5c3a92d5-6be3-4ac3-a4ad-837ac6d75874",true,"Reimagining Olympic spectacle: the city as event multivenue",[412],{"entry":413},{"link_type":46},{"dimensions":415,"alt":416,"copyright":10,"url":417,"id":418,"edit":419,"meta":421},{"width":8,"height":9},"A large, majestic courthouse and prison in the Gothic Revival style featuring 2 large round turrets at the forefront and windows of various sizes set against a grey afternoon sky. Actors dressed in red gowns perform from the windows above, while actors in black line the street below. Red streamers are being fired from the ground.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fwalktheplank\u002FaaAegcFoBIGEg2qK_Image1-.png?auto=format,compress&rect=161,0,959,719&w=4000&h=3000","aaAegcFoBIGEg2qK",{"x":420,"y":14,"zoom":15,"background":16},161,{"dimensions":422,"alt":416,"copyright":10,"url":423,"id":418,"edit":424},{"width":19,"height":20},"https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fwalktheplank\u002FaaAegcFoBIGEg2qK_Image1-.png?auto=format,compress&rect=0,24,1280,672&w=1200&h=630",{"x":14,"y":362,"zoom":15,"background":16},"Dr Beatriz Garcia discuses how best to utilise cities and public space as iconic and meaningful platforms to stage major events and ceremonial occasions.",{"dimensions":427,"alt":416,"copyright":10,"url":428,"id":418,"edit":429,"portrait":431},{"width":8,"height":26},"https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fwalktheplank\u002FaaAegcFoBIGEg2qK_Image1-.png?auto=format,compress&rect=135,0,1009,719&w=4000&h=2850",{"x":430,"y":14,"zoom":15,"background":16},135,{"dimensions":432,"alt":416,"copyright":10,"url":433,"id":418,"edit":434},{"width":26,"height":8},"https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fwalktheplank\u002FaaAegcFoBIGEg2qK_Image1-.png?auto=format,compress&rect=384,0,512,719&w=2850&h=4000",{"x":435,"y":14,"zoom":15,"background":16},384,[437],{"link":438,"label":10,"logo":439},{"link_type":154},{},[441],{"newsTag":442},{"id":38,"type":39,"tags":443,"lang":41,"slug":42,"first_publication_date":43,"last_publication_date":43,"uid":42,"link_type":46,"key":444,"isBroken":48},[],"8596485f-ac91-40b2-a1bc-eb627b1798fe",{"id":446,"postDate":447,"type":160,"uid":448,"author":449,"presentedBy":450,"authorLink":454,"slices5":462,"intro":537,"withRelatedNews":409,"title":541,"relatedNews":542,"primaryImage":561,"summary":572,"heroImage":573,"partners":583,"newsTags":587},"aKdHDhEAACoA-TBy","2025-08-27T23:00:00+0000","access-in-the-outdoor-arts","Alice Carter",[451],{"link":452,"label":10,"logo":453},{"link_type":53},{},{"id":455,"type":456,"tags":457,"lang":41,"slug":458,"first_publication_date":459,"last_publication_date":460,"uid":458,"link_type":46,"key":461,"isBroken":48},"Zco-5BEAALRjFi3A","team",[],"alice-carter","2024-02-12T15:54:27+0000","2025-05-07T10:19:28+0000","8681941a-1031-4e87-b334-d5c682c33fc8",[463,486,514],{"variation":59,"version":60,"items":464,"primary":465,"id":485,"slice_type":79,"slice_label":10},[],{"heading":10,"body":466},[467,470,473,476,479,482],{"type":65,"text":468,"spans":469,"direction":68},"These could range from physical, geographical, socio-economic barriers to non-visible community specific barriers.  ",[],{"type":65,"text":471,"spans":472,"direction":68},"Celebrating and championing access to the arts, especially for underrepresented demographics, is something I am particularly passionate about and, throughout my career, I have found myself drawn to projects and artists that hold inclusivity and accessibility as a central pillar of their practice. This has included, during covid, producing and touring a ‘sort of dance’ show centring fat masculine and non-binary bodies and working with Unlimited and ND artist Byron Vincent to develop the UK’s first neurodiverse accessible rave - Disco Neurotica.  ",[],{"type":65,"text":474,"spans":475,"direction":68},"It was my desire to continue developing innovative creative projects with an accessible minded ethos that appealed to me about Walk the Plank, and since joining the team just over 18 months ago I have seen exactly how Walk the Plank works to embed access into each project we deliver.  ",[],{"type":65,"text":477,"spans":478,"direction":68},"Most recently within Walk the Plank’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Working Group we have been discussing how access intersects with the different areas of our work. ",[],{"type":65,"text":480,"spans":481,"direction":68},"There is an immediate freedom that comes from working outdoors, untethered by the physical constraints of a building, that is exciting. The scope of what you can dream up feels wider and taller, with no building regulations or faulty lifts to prevent people from accessing the work you dream up.  ",[],{"type":65,"text":483,"spans":484,"direction":68},"Access will look different from project to project. Regardless, I have found it crucial to think about access during the planning stage of a project and embed it into every step of that project’s creation, delivery and evaluation. This ranges from budget creation, to the artists we decide to work with, the conversations we have with those artists to understand both their individual needs and communicate the project’s creative approach, to how we collaborate with the communities we’re working in to better understand and address their specific needs.  ",[],"text_block$59d791dc-a99e-4dcf-bf01-270b3dc945bc",{"variation":59,"version":60,"items":487,"primary":512,"id":513,"slice_type":102,"slice_label":10},[488,495,503],{"image":489,"caption":10},{"dimensions":490,"alt":491,"copyright":10,"url":492,"id":493,"edit":494},{"width":8,"height":26},"Three performers wearing a pink, purple and blue outfit and holding drums","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fwalktheplank\u002Fa3c38743-b500-44ea-bcae-264f36e22287_MWjun22-298639.jpeg?auto=format,compress&rect=112,0,3276,2334&w=4000&h=2850","ZHcrhhAAACYAkjJW",{"x":138,"y":14,"zoom":15,"background":16},{"image":496,"caption":10},{"dimensions":497,"alt":498,"copyright":10,"url":499,"id":500,"edit":501},{"width":8,"height":26},"A close up images of a drummer smiling in the sunshine with colourful eye makeup and colour on","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fwalktheplank\u002FaCHWdydWJ-7kR7MF_ManchesterDayOnHoliday%2CMarkWaugh-62-.JPG?auto=format,compress&rect=145,0,4211,3000&w=4000&h=2850","aCHWdydWJ-7kR7MF",{"x":502,"y":14,"zoom":15,"background":16},145,{"image":504,"caption":10},{"dimensions":505,"alt":506,"copyright":507,"url":508,"id":509,"edit":510},{"width":8,"height":26},"A group of children dressed up and smiling into the camera","Mark Waugh, Manchester Day 2010","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fwalktheplank\u002Fd59b4f77-fce6-4168-b1be-d4e6aae743e6_Manchester+Day+Parade.+WTP.MCC+%28c%29Mark+Waugh.JPG?auto=format,compress&rect=181,0,5255,3744&w=4000&h=2850","ZNyeCxEAADsYx8_Z",{"x":511,"y":14,"zoom":15,"background":16},181,{},"image_carousel_block$01e5b8fe-ea61-43b3-be1b-318ad4dd62ca",{"variation":59,"version":60,"items":515,"primary":516,"id":536,"slice_type":79,"slice_label":10},[],{"heading":10,"body":517},[518,521,524,527,530,533],{"type":65,"text":519,"spans":520,"direction":68},"As a Producer, I have found the most success when I am honest with myself and the people I am working with about the resources available and what we can realistically achieve. In my experience, this may mean identifying one or maybe two barriers to focus on and using your resources to effectively put in place funds and initiatives to support the community most affected by those barriers. One of the worst things you can do at the project planning stage with regards to access is overpromise and underdeliver.  ",[],{"type":65,"text":522,"spans":523,"direction":68},"I feel strongly that best practice should be to work collaboratively with people with lived experience of the access needs you are addressing. It is also helpful to research what work is already happening in the area you’re working in and look to support rather than ignore that work. Partnering with local organisations or individuals within the community allows you to contribute to the ongoing ecology of the area, enhancing initiatives and agendas that last beyond the immediate scope of your project. ",[],{"type":65,"text":525,"spans":526,"direction":68},"Recently myself and some of the Walk the Plank team were lucky enough to attend Graeae Theatre’s Beyond Artist Showcase, spotlighting work from Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent artists.  ",[],{"type":65,"text":528,"spans":529,"direction":68},"As part of the day, we chatted to the Graeae leadership team about the organisations work around and use of Access Riders, discussing their increasing prevalence within the culture industries and best practice for supporting artists, collaborators and audiences’ with access needs.  ",[],{"type":65,"text":531,"spans":532,"direction":68},"The result is that in DEIB we have begun to examine whether a formalised access rider could be a useful tool in supporting Walk the Plank’s communication with artists and audiences. It’s an ongoing process which, as all good conversations should, raises more questions than answers, opening up new areas for exploration and allows Walk the Plank and myself to continue developing and embedding access at the heart of our creative practice.  ",[],{"type":65,"text":534,"spans":535,"direction":68},"Ultimately, we feel that culture is vital for a healthy and rich society but that is only meaningful if we realise that dream for all and not just some. ",[],"text_block$b4b3c99a-db1e-4c88-a62e-80139673c36f",[538],{"type":65,"text":539,"spans":540,"direction":68},"Access is a term that can be defined in many ways. For me, it simply means removing barriers that exist for artists to create work and audiences to engage with that work.",[],"Alice – On Access in the Arts",[543,552],{"entry":544},{"id":545,"type":160,"tags":546,"lang":41,"slug":547,"first_publication_date":548,"last_publication_date":549,"uid":550,"link_type":46,"key":551,"isBroken":48},"aIdztBAAACMADlHR",[],"animating-communities-the-art-and-impact-of-choreography","2025-07-30T10:45:51+0000","2025-08-01T14:27:06+0000","animating-communities","91e77800-dfa6-4d08-abb7-7f4767bfd83b",{"entry":553},{"id":554,"type":160,"tags":555,"lang":41,"slug":556,"first_publication_date":557,"last_publication_date":558,"uid":559,"link_type":46,"key":560,"isBroken":48},"ZktV0xEAACMAqisT",[],"diversity-equity-inclusion-and-belonging-journey---production-and-producing","2024-05-20T15:07:01+0000","2024-05-20T15:22:25+0000","deib-production-and-producing","4750e25a-e942-43c0-af5e-895d9ef566de",{"dimensions":562,"alt":10,"copyright":10,"url":563,"id":564,"edit":565,"meta":567},{"width":8,"height":9},"https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fwalktheplank\u002FaLAo7WGNHVfTOZeL_ManchesterDay2022%2CMarkWaugh-8-.JPG?auto=format,compress&rect=194,0,3112,2334&w=4000&h=3000","aLAo7WGNHVfTOZeL",{"x":566,"y":14,"zoom":15,"background":16},194,{"dimensions":568,"alt":10,"copyright":10,"url":569,"id":564,"edit":570},{"width":19,"height":20},"https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fwalktheplank\u002FaLAo7WGNHVfTOZeL_ManchesterDay2022%2CMarkWaugh-8-.JPG?auto=format,compress&rect=0,248,3500,1838&w=1200&h=630",{"x":14,"y":571,"zoom":15,"background":16},248,"Walk the Plank Producer Alice Carter on her thoughts about championing access in the outdoor Arts industry.",{"dimensions":574,"alt":575,"copyright":10,"url":576,"id":564,"edit":577,"portrait":578},{"width":8,"height":26},"Three people dressed in pink, purple and pink costumes, with face paint, smiling, holding drums. 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