PARIS — On an eerily quiet Boulevard Saint-Germain the day after the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Video games, the pavement in entrance of the Ralph Lauren retailer was a small hive of exercise.
A row of uniformed attendants greeted visitors on the town to cheer on Staff USA at a cocktail social gathering at Ralph’s restaurant. Jessica Chastain, Nick Jonas, Nina Dobrev, Shaun White and John Mulaney had been simply the warm-up crew.
Rumors of the arrival of a particular visitor had been confirmed shortly after 10 p.m., when First Girl Dr. Jill Biden made a shock look earlier than mingling with visitors together with director Spike Lee.
Spike Lee and Jill Biden
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She was greeted by hosts David Lauren, chief innovation and branding officer at Ralph Lauren; chief govt officer Patrice Louvet, and Lauren Bush Lauren, who was carrying a sweater emblazoned with the U.S. flag and the Olympic rings.
“That is an American second and to have the primary woman right here with some nice athletes and a few nice spirit is superb,” David Lauren mentioned.
Although the bottom was nonetheless damp, the skies cleared simply in time for visitors to benefit from the out of doors patio, the place a stay band performed jazz.
Speak turned, naturally, to the earlier evening’s rain-drenched proceedings. Seeing Staff USA journey down the Seine in a ship carrying their Ralph Lauren outfits was a spotlight.
“I imply, that’s the second that we’ve been ready for as an organization,” mentioned Lauren. However like many, he was additionally moved by Celine Dion’s triumphant comeback efficiency on the Eiffel Tower following her extremely publicized battle with a uncommon illness referred to as stiff particular person syndrome.
“One thing went by all people world wide, it doesn’t matter what nation you’re from,” he mentioned. “It was a second of perseverance and power and braveness.”
John Mulaney and Lauren Bush Lauren
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Mulaney watched the proceedings from the Pont de la Concorde.
“It was so egalitarian in that there have been billionaires, there have been interns — everybody was in the identical clear plastic poncho and everybody was the identical quantity moist,” he mentioned. “Everybody needed to remain on the sting of the bridge, clearly, to see the groups coming, so there have been huge umbrellas, however everybody simply stood proper out within the rain.”
He plans to stay round to see the volleyball and diving competitions. “And I missed handball, which I’m unhappy about. I wish to go to a number of the smaller occasions,” mentioned the comic, who has some stand-up exhibits lined up for fall.
Chastain, carrying a Polo Ralph Lauren Staff USA jacket over her lengthy crimson costume, huddled along with her husband Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo, White and Dobrev, who was nonetheless strolling with a cane after surgical procedure following a motorbike accident.
“My favourite Olympic second was when the particular person on the horse was driving by the river,” mentioned the “Vampire Diaries” star.
“I don’t know why, to be trustworthy with you, I haven’t had an opportunity to actually unpack that, but it surely made me very emotional watching the lone rider — perhaps the journey that every one these athletes take to get to the place they’re,” she mused.
“And Celine Dion, clearly, seeing her again on stage for the primary time after her prognosis was so highly effective. However then, on a private word, on the finish of the evening, when Shaun was pushing me on my wheelchair round Paris and the streets had been all closed, and it was so bizarre and delightful to be working across the streets of Paris with no automobiles, and simply the 2 of us,” she added.
Nick Jonas
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It was the primary Olympics for Jonas, who headed to the airport straight from an look on “The Tonight Present Starring Jimmy Fallon” and solely caught half of the opening ceremony.
“I believed that the French flag throughout the bridge and the smoke was some of the lovely issues I’ve ever seen. After which clearly Gaga is all the time superb. I really like Gaga, and seeing Celine get again on stage and sing was fairly particular,” he mentioned.
Jonas plans to catch some volleyball, gymnastics, skateboarding and basketball. “It’s a reasonably full agenda,” he conceded. He’ll be again in Europe in September, solely this time on stage with the Jonas Brothers. “I’m attempting to get pleasure from a fast little bit of downtime earlier than we begin again up,” the singer mentioned.
Regardless of being soaked to the bone in the course of the opening ceremony, the U.S. athletes had been in excessive spirits.
“I felt prefer it was straight out of a film scene, and it was actually cool as a result of at one second, it felt like the entire athletes simply embraced it. We took off our ponchos, no matter was overlaying our hair, we had been simply full sense into it,” mentioned volleyball staff member Chiaka Ogbodu.
“I’m positive they timed this completely, however our boat pulled as much as the Eiffel Tower proper because it was about to gentle up so I acquired to have that on digital camera,” she added. “That’s like a once-in-a-lifetime second that I and my teammates acquired to expertise so I’m actually grateful for that. I’ve by no means seen the Eiffel Tower lit up at evening.”
Jeffrey Louis and Chiaka Ogbodu
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Jeffrey Louis, aka Bboy Jeffro, was gearing up for breakdancing’s debut as an Olympic self-discipline.
“There’s rather a lot to show, however there’s additionally nothing to show, so we’re simply getting in with a whole lot of vitality,” he mentioned. “Everyone’s in prime form. We had been coaching at the moment, truly — in all probability the toughest coaching session I’ve accomplished to this point being over right here, so I believe all people’s good.”
He doesn’t begin competing till Aug. 10, so he’s staying in a lodge earlier than shifting to the Olympic Village nearer to the massive day. “Yeah, I’ll wait until the final minute to hop in these cardboard beds,” Louis joked.
Alan Cumming doesn’t thoughts slightly discomfort.
“I liked that it rained,” he mentioned. “We had been carrying these little plastic macs and my footwear had been hurting and there was such a fantastic second: I walked house within the streets of Paris in my naked ft within the rain. It was like a film.”
The “Good Spouse” star, carrying a shiny inexperienced Ralph Lauren Purple Label go well with, was having fun with a couple of days off earlier than heading again to his native Scotland to shoot a film tentatively known as “Glenrothan” reverse Brian Cox — therefore his new beard.
“We’re brothers, so I’m attempting to appear to be him,” he mentioned. “We’re a whisky household and he’s the older brother and I’ve gone away to America after a schism and I come again.”
By no means thoughts that there’s in all probability extra rain on the menu. “I’m all for rain,” Cumming mentioned. “I believe that’s why we’ve all acquired such good pores and skin in Scotland, as a result of it’s simply fixed moisture.”
