Paris Olympic campaign launch: 'Together we are Team Belgium'

The aim of the Belgian athletes at the 2024 Olympics in Paris is to improve on the seven medals won at the 2021 games in Tokyo. The Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee (BOIC) launched a film campaign on Thursday with the message "Together we'll make history" and a new symbol of encouragement.

In the video, images of Belgian flag bearers such as Nafi Thiam, Remco Evenepoel and the Belgian Cats are interspersed with images of supporters. To the tune of Victory by Belgian singer Daan, who also narrates the video, the campaign is designed to give viewers goosebumps.

"Sport is emotion," says Dieter Reyntjes, director of marketing and communications at BOIC. "We want to make it clear that athletes and fans experience the same feelings and that they are Team Belgium."

As a symbol of encouragement, the BOIC has introduced the "embrace", a choreography in which both hands are placed on the shoulders. "This is to show togetherness," says Cédric Van Branteghem, CEO of the BOIC. "Hopefully, it will become a strong symbol that fans will adopt."

The fact that the Olympics are being held close to Belgium should add to the excitement. The BOIC is expecting many Belgian fans to travel to the games, and Le Soir reports that ​ more than 130,000 tickets have already been sold to Belgians.

From Saturday, tickets will also be available for the Belgium House, the meeting place for Belgian athletes and supporters during the games in Paris.

^{© BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND}