Calgarians looking to take part in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics have a few ways to join the in-person celebrations, but save flying to Paris itself, Calgary’s Fan Fest is the next best thing.

On July 26, Stephen Avenue was transformed for Team Canada, with try-it experiences for some of the Paris Olympics sports set up alongside broadcast zones for fans to watch the Olympics, live music performances, and a whole host of community-oriented events and partners to visit and enjoy.

The weekend of programming was kicked off with a broadcast of the opening ceremonies from Paris, along with hosting by Olympic speed skater and Sport Calgary CEO Catriona Le May Doan and Olympic speed skater Gilmore ‘Gimoy’ Junio.

Le May Doan called bringing sport to Calgarians, be that the Olympics or otherwise, her life’s work.

“I don’t ever care what level somebody goes to. I just want people to be active and to get involved in sport,” she said.

“There is something for everybody, which is again what I preach in my day to day work, but let’s inspire people and we know that’s what the games do.”

Calgary was one of three Fan Fests to celebrate Team Canada, something that Le May Doan said came about as a result of a bit of last minute planning and a reflection of the rebuilding occuring in fan experiences after having no opportunity to hold events during the pandemic years Olympics.

“It’s a start. This is something that should have been happening, and there’s been more things to deal with, but this is great when we can get people together,” Le May Doan said.

“We couldn’t do this in 2020 and 2022. So hopefully we can get some stories out to people to see what’s behind the scenes. That to me is what’s important. We want to be able to really have people realize that the athletes on TV, representing all Canadians, are real people.”

Hopefully some of the demonstrations of sports like fencing, and in some of the try-it events including those for Paralympic sports, would encourage people to try sports after the games are complete, Le May Doan said.

“We give opportunities for people to try: August 17, we have an opportunity for thousands of kids to come out and try these sports for free. So get inspired by the Olympics. And we have an Adaptable All Sport One Day, so get inspired by the start of the Paralympics, which are going to happen afterwards, and then try something new,” she said.

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

A little bit Olympics, a little bit rock and roll

Olympian turned Ward 3 Coun. Jasmine Mian, and Mayor Jyoti Gondek were also on hand at the opening of the Fan Fest on July 26, to welcome Calgarians to the celebrations.

Mian represented Canada in the 2016 Rio Olympics in the sport of wrestling.

Mayor Gondek said that the ability for the city to hold a celebration on Stephen Avenue for Canada’s Olympic athletes meant that Calgary was a city that takes sport seriously.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re an amateur athlete, if you’re just a low league player, or you’re a professional athlete or an Olympian like Jasmine, we care about sport in this city,” Mayor Gondek said.

“It’s not just 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.”

Coun. Mian said that it was always fun to have a summer Olympic activation happen, given how well the city is known for being the home of the Winter Olympics.

“We’re really known as being a winter city and we have so many amazing summer athletes. I think there are 16 from Calgary. That’s the part that I’m really excited about, is to see people engage in summer sports like soccer and cricket as these sports are the fastest growing sports in Canada,” She said.

Mayor Gondek said that her first memorable Olympic experience was spending time with a dozen or so kids from her extended family watching the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and getting excited because there was an athlete who shared her name—and won a gold medal.

Had she the opportunity to do so though, Mayor Gondek said that she would pick skateboarding as her Olympic sport, which made its debut at the 2021 summer games.

“I have been a really poor skateboarder for a very long time. I think if I had four years to dedicate to the craft, I could be good,” she laughed.

Coun. Mian said that tracked for her though, as the pick for the mayor.

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

For Coun. Mian, the combination of politics and sport began for her in Calgary City Council.

Her first experience visiting council chambers was as a member of the 2016 Olympic delegation that was recognized by council then led 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 now I’m part of the leadership of this city. Most female CEOs have played sports, and so I think it’s not just about the aspects of fair play and resilience and character building, I think it is also about building future leaders,” Mian said.

“So I’m really proud that the Olympics and Calgary has been a part of my leadership story.”

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