Konbini (DR) / @ayanakamura_officiel
By Elsa Girard-Basset | Web journalist
If nothing has yet been made official, the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games which will be held in less than 50 days continues to cause a lot of talk in France. And while Aya Nakamura and Céline Dion seem to hold the rope, it is a certain Gims who entered the dance and who delivered unexpected information on the subject.
It’s an open secret: unless there’s a last minute change, Aya Nakamura should indeed be one of the stars of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, despite the controversies that punctuated her participation. Alongside the interpreter of “Djadja”, many artists will be present, including possibly Céline Dion, who would thus mark her comeback.
3 months after the initial controversy over the participation of Aya Nakamura, considered too far from French values by part of the political spectrum, the new thorny debate concerns the sum that would be spent to attract the two female stars – le Canard Enchaîné speaks in fact of 700,000 euros for the native of Bamako, and 2 million euros for the Quebecois.
Gims explains why he refused to sing at the Olympics
Besides these two world-famous superstars, who else will be present during this ceremony which promises to be watched by hundreds of millions of viewers around the world? No one knows, but Gims could have been there. But here it is: the former member of the Sexion d’Assaut refused the offer made to him to perform on this occasion.
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In an interview with “Ciné Télé Revue”, he explained his reasoning:
Ah (smile), it was offered to me. I could have done it, but it was not my will. I have already had the chance to perform one of the anthems of the 2022 Football World Cup, during the closing ceremony. I don’t think we can get any bigger. I don’t want to be everywhere.
A clear explanation from the singer, at a time when the stars tirelessly continue to comment on Aya Nakamura’s participation in the festivities. Recently, for example, it was Dave who spoke out from the age of 80, with, like many of his counterparts, a message of support for the thirty-year-old:
Does Aya Nakamura shock me? No, no more than that, why? She’s not French? I think it’s good that she’s a Frenchwoman. If you’ve been looking at the top 200 for years like me, it’s there on four records each time! It’s extraordinary, its popularity, so there’s nothing to say. Now it’s a matter of taste.
Careful not to overdo itt not to occupy all the space, Gims preferred to skip his turn for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics. The rapper therefore chose to withdraw from the game and leave the light to Aya Nakamura and Céline Dion, in the meantime the names of any other participants.
