Ever since the opening ceremony saw that robot horse gallop up the Seine, Céline Dion sing and Keir Starmer stubbornly refuse to wear a rain poncho, Paris 2024 has been an Olympics to remember.
Sure, there have been plenty of sporting heroics – from Simone Biles’s brilliance to Tom Pidcock’s puncture comeback. But what about the less-celebrated highlights, behind the mic and in the broadcast studios? From photobombs to bloopers, from faux pas to flesh-flashing, we rewind a dozen TV moments you may have missed …
Snoop Dogg commentates on the rugby
The herbally enhanced rapper has proved an unlikely cult hero of the games, from torchbearing through the Paris suburbs (cue “drop it like it’s hot” gags) to dancing in the stands, swimming with Michael Phelps, befriending Billie Jean King and donning full riding gear for the dressage. A highlight of Snoop’s “special correspondent” stint on NBC was his drawling description of French scrum-half Antoine Dupont speeding down the wing during the home nation’s rugby sevens victory: “He’s got wheels, he deals, he falls, he spills when he gives to his homie, who gets five to stay alive. See, that’s five points and now they groovin’.” Someone sign up him for the Six Nations asap.
Tom Daley’s baby gatecrashes interview
Tom Daley's son throwing a juice cup to him while he's on TV 😂
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 29, 2024
Daley (tried) to answer a question about his future in diving...#Paris2024 #Olympics #BBCOlympics pic.twitter.com/VRc5wz2pRE
Tom Daley won his fifth Olympic medal by securing silver alongside Noah Williams in the men’s synchronised 10m platform. It was a family affair as Daley paid tribute to the support of his husband, the Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, so it seemed only fitting that their one-year-old son should steal the show during his post-event interview. “And now Phoenix is throwing his juice cup at people,” laughed Daley as a pink beaker was propelled from the stands in excitement.
Fred Sirieix interviews diving daughter Andrea
"I'm so happy!" 🥺
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 31, 2024
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix was emotional after collecting her bronze medal with Lois Toulson – as her dad Fred Sirieix stood beside her. ❤️️#BBCOlympics #Olympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/XVk8ClTvwW
TV’s favourite French charmer, First Dates maitre d’ Fred Sirieix, proved a très bon addition to the BBC team – not least when his 19-year-old daughter won a diving medal. “Every five minutes, I find myself crying,” gushed the proud papa. “I feel so full, I might explode with pride. Well done, bébé!” After Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson clinched bronze in the women’s synchronised 10m platform, Sirieix Sr interviewed the pair poolside. He couldn’t help fondly stroking his daughter’s hair mid-chat. The exchange ended with the pair warmly embracing. Aww.
Window cleaners photobomb BBC coverage
Not now, George Formby. Viewers were most amused when window cleaners decided to buff the BBC’s glass studio during a live broadcast. As presenter Hazel Irvine discussed the diving with pundit Tonia Couch, they were distracted by two oblivious workers appearing behind them. “Can you see this behind me?” laughed the unflappable Irvine. “We’ve got two gentlemen fixing our studio. I don’t think they know they’re on telly.” There’s only one thing for it: make window cleaning an Olympic event.
Joe Lycett lookalike saves the day
GIVE THIS MAN A MEDAL! 🥇
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 28, 2024
When a rogue swimming cap found its way into the Olympic pool, this man and his snazzy shorts sprung into action in front of 15,000 people 👏👏#BBCOlympics #Olympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/QkYxhGupbK
When an errant swimming cap appeared in the Olympic pool, someone needed to remove it sharpish and keep the swimming on schedule. Enter a scantily clad official in brightly coloured trunks and what was widely described as a “dad bod”. As he dived in to retrieve the rogue item, the 15,000-strong crowd cheered him on and a nameless legend was born. Well, until comedian Joe Lycett cheekily claimed credit. “I was just in the right place at the right time,” Lycett posted on X. “Anyone else would’ve done the same.”
Clare Balding sheds a tear for Andy Murray
"I think you better say something." 😭
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 1, 2024
Clare Balding paid an emotional tribute to Andy Murray after he played the final match of his career ❤
#Olympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/IkWwJoylpW
BBC anchor Clare Balding made a rare misstep early in the games, sparking a “classism” row, with the privately educated presenter expressing surprise that no Olympians visited Rebecca Adlington’s state school when she was growing up. Balding soon bounced back to her best, evidenced by her emotional reaction to Andy Murray’s last match as a professional tennis player. After Murray and Dan Evans’s valiant quarter-final exit in the men’s doubles, Balding had a wobble in her voice, plaintively telling pundits Adlington and Mark Foster: “You’d better say something.” Adlington patted her arm fondly. A producer passed her a tissue. Balding swiftly recovered, said, “Right, I’ve got it back together again”, and turned her attention to the swimming.
Chair and chair alike
He’ll never live it down. Viewers were agog when a medic casually sat in a chair provided for a sick athlete. Brazilian fencer Nathalie Moellhausen fainted during her match against Ruien Xiao of Canada, later revealing that she had been competing with a benign tumour on her coccyx, which was causing her pain. Three members of the Brazil support team rushed to her aid but when an official brought over a chair, one of them absent-mindedly sat down on it before being told it was for Moellhausen. Realising his error, he leapt back up and helped the fencer into the seat. It was somehow relatable: “Thanks, I’ve been on my feet all day. Wait, no, I mean: I was just testing it was sturdy enough.”
From Olympic rings to engagement rings
A gold and a diamond! 🥇💍
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 2, 2024
After winning her medal, Huang Yaqiong was proposed to by fellow Chinese badminton player Liu Yuchen ❤️#BBCOlympics #Olympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/rTINr4BunZ
There has been room for romance amid the sporting rivalry. Chinese badminton star Huang Yaqiong had a memorable Friday when she won mixed-doubles gold, then walked straight into a surprise marriage proposal. After her victory lap, teammate and long-term boyfriend Liu Yuchen awaited with a congratulatory bouquet and got down on one knee. To the delight of cheering fans, she said yes.
What’s in a name?
We don’t normally snigger at people’s names but athletes’ on-screen captions have been a bonus distraction. Highlights have been gold medal-winning Chinese synchronised dive duo Long/Wang and GB hurdler Cindy Sember (“What month is Christmas again?” quipped some on social media). There was double fun when the swimming lane draw for the women’s 200m freestyle threw up the adjacent combos of Weinstein/Harvey (awkward) and Canny/Seemanova (AKA “a Scottish person looking for their Vauxhall”).
Rower Lola Anderson does it for her dad
13 years ago, as a child Lola Anderson scribbled down a note saying her aim was to win Olympic gold.
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 31, 2024
Her dad kept it for years, and just before he died, he gave it back to her.
Now she's fulfilled her dream 🥇 💛#Paris2024 #Olympics #bbcolympics pic.twitter.com/ZWPDXgN6mD
Shortly before dying of cancer, Don Anderson handed his daughter Lola a page from her teenage diary. He had rescued it from the bin and kept it after she threw it away in embarrassment. The diary entry said her ambition was to win Olympic rowing gold. Over a decade later, Lola’s dream came true as she and Hannah Scott won the women’s quad sculls. In an emotional post-race interview, the 26-year-old dedicated her career to her father’s memory. There wasn’t a dry eye on sofas nationwide.
Viva la petite voiture
The first day of track and field was cause for extra celebration, since it meant the return of fan favourite “Little Car” – those dinky remote control vehicles that whiz around the stadium, retrieving equipment such as javelins, discuses, shot puts and hammers. This time, naturally, the miniature motors were being “driven” by Paris 2024’s Phrygian cap mascot. They were modelled on Toyota SUVs, which is nice but not quite as cool as the Mini Coopers at London 2012.
Surfer flashes full moon
Having your pants pulled down by a big wave is embarrassing enough. It happening at the Olympics with the whole world watching is next level. Yet German surfer Tim Elter remained philosophical after he was stripped of his dignity on Teahupo’o beach in Tahiti. Elter was unceremoniously pushed off his board by a wave that also took down his shorts, leaving his bare buttocks protruding from the water for all to see. “When the waves don’t deliver, my ass does,” Elter wrote ruefully on Instagram.
