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The Best Moments from the Paris 2024 Olympics

August 16, 2024

The 2024 Olympics: The best , the worse and everything in between

The 2024 Olympics have been nothing short of spectacular, filled with moments that will go down in history. So, whether you were glued to your screen or following update on social media, the Olympics were a feast of athletic prowess, cultural pride, and unforgettable moments.

The 2024 Olympics were filled with breathtaking performances, unexpected triumphs, and heartwarming and unforgetable moments. Moment that will be remembered for years to come. From the spectacular opening ceremony to surprise victories, here’s a look at the top best moments from the Paris Olympics.

Instagram Paris 2024

1. A Dazzling Opening Ceremony

The 2024 Olympics kicked off with a breathtaking opening ceremony that showcased the best of Parisian way of life. From stunning performances by world-renowned artists such French-Malian Aya Nakamura and Lady Gaga. Or, the intricate scenography that brought to life the history of the city and, of the Olympic Games, the ceremony set the tone for what would be an unforgettable competition. The highlights? The ceremony took place in the open air and around the city’s landmarks. Celine Dion’s mesmerising rendition of Hymne à l’amour (a French classic from legendary singer Edith Piaf), againt a glittery Eiffel Tower, was probably thee highlight of the night.

2. African Nations Shine Bright

The 2024 Olympics were a landmark event for African nations, who not only competed fiercely but also brought home unprecedented medals. From track and field to gymnastics and, team sports, African athletes displayed their exceptional talents and brought pride to their nations. For instance, Letsile Tebogo (Botswana) won his county its first ever gold medal in the men’s 200 meters. The South Africa’s men’s 4×00 silver medal is also particularly noteworthy. Kenya and Ethiopia continued success in long-distance running deeserve praises.

A shout out to the following African athletes for their stand out performances :

Kaylia Nemour (Algeria) first ever medals in gymnastics
Tatjana Smith (South Africa) , she clinched gold and silver in Swimming
David Pina (Cae Verde), who brought the country its first ever olympic medal in boxing.

It is also worth mentioning the Cameroonian born Cindy Gamba, who made history by being the first athele competing in the Refugees team, to win a medal.

3. Simone Biles’ Triumphant Return

Simone Biles, the gymnastics legend, made a powerful comeback at the 2024 Olympics after taking a mental health break during at the 2020 Olympics. Her return was met with overwhelming support, and she didn’t disappoint. Biles demonstrated why she’s considered the greatest gymnast of all time. Indeed she won gold in both the individual all-around and floor events. Furthermore, her performance was not only a testament to her resilience but also, an inspiring reminder of the importance of mental health in sports.

4. Black Girls Magic Viral Moment

An all-black girls podium became a viral internet sensation of these 2024 Paris Olympic and a heartfelt moment. Rebecca Andrade (Gold/Brazil), Simone Biles (Bronze/USA) and Jordan Chiles (Silver/USA) are indeed the winning trio of the women’s artistic floor exercise final.

Rebecca’s win is a story of resilience and determination that deserves to be celebrated.

Unfortunately, due to some ruling technicalities’s it was announced on Monday that Chiles will have to return her bronze medal and bumped to 5th place.

Instagram Paris 2024

5. Snoop Dogg Steals the Show as the Olympic Mascot

In one of the most unexpected yet delightful moments of the 2024 Olympics, rapper and pop culture icon Snoop Dogg took on the role of the official Olympic mascot. His unique flair brought a new level of entertainment to the Games, from his commentary during events to his interactions with athletes and fans. Snoop’s presence added a touch of humor and relatability to the Olympics, making the Games more accessible and enjoyable for audiences around the world. Who would have tought that some Gangsta’ rapper of the 90ies would become this cool figure loved by kids, moms and grandmas around the world!

Snoog Dogg re-endorsed his rapper role and performed (alongside long time collaborator, Dr Dre), from Venice Beach in Los Angeles, the next Olympics host city.

6. South Sudan and Nigeria’s Basketball Triumphs

The South Sudan Men’s Basketball Team and the Nigeria Women’s Basketball Team made headlines with their exceptional performances. South Sudan, a relatively new nation in the (sports) world, defied the odds by participating in the Olympics and showcasing their growing basketball prowess against big teams. Nigeria’s women’s team, the D’Tigress, on the other hand, made history by being the first African women team to reach the quarter finals stages in the Olympics.

6. Imane Khelif’s Golden Revenge

The controversy regarding Algerian’s boxer Imane Khelif’s gender, unfortunately casted a dark cloud over the Olympics. Like Imane, many females’ athletes before, mostly women of colors, have been accused of being men or transgenders and subjected to bullying and demeaning treatments. Wining gold medals was the best revenge for Imane.

Earlier this week, it was announce that Khelif filed a lawsuit for cyber-bulllying and reportedly named people like author JK Rowling and X’s owner, Elon Musk.

7. Nail-Biting Basketball Finals Between USA and France

The basketball finals between the USA and France were nothing short of electrifying. Both the men’s and women’s teams delivered performances that kept fans on the edge of their seats. The matches were tightly contested, with a very tight lead in both games, but in the end, it was the USA that emerged victorious, continuing their legacy of basketball dominance.

8. Australia’s Viral Breakdancer

“Grand opening, grand closing”? Breakdancing was one of the few new non-traditional sports introduced at this year Olympics, alongside skateboarding (which features mostly young stylish teenagers) surfing, and climbing.

Unfortunatel, breakdancing became a meme at these Olympics, due to the lacklustre performance of Australian so-called breakdance routine. Rachel ‘Raygun’ Gunn delivered a performance that resembled more a toddler tantrum than displaying real breakdancing skills. Behind all the memes and the ridicule, it was really an insult to the pioneers and real lover of the genre.

Breakdancing will apparently not be feature at the 2028 edition in Los Angeles.

9. The End of Jamaica and USA’s Track Dominance

The 2024 Olympics marked the end of an era in track and field as new nations rose to the occasion, ending the long-standing dominance of Jamaica and the USA. This changing of the guard was particularly evident in the sprint events, where emerging athletes from countries like Botswana and Dominica (Not Dominican Republican) took centre stage, proving that the future of track is truly global.

Instagram Paris 2024

10. Sifan Hassan’s Record-Breaking Run

Dutch (Ethiopian born) runner Sifan Hassan once again proved her dominance in long-distance running by winning bronze in the 5000 & 10 000 meters and gold in the women’s marathon! Her incredible pace, endurance and famous ‘late kick’ left spectators in awe, and her achievement further cemented her status as one of the greatest runners of her generation. It was also beautiful to withess Sifan received her last medal proudly donning her hijab in a country that forbids its athletes to do so. Diversity and inclusion at the Olympics, and in every parts of society, deserve celebration, or at least, respect.

11. Yseult’s “My Way” Rendition at the Closing Ceremony

The closing ceremony of the 2024 Olympics was not as captivating as the opening (with its famous controversial ‘Cene’. The pace and the quality of the performances were uneven and quite boring at time, but standout performance by French singer Yseult saved the night. Her soulful rendition of “My Way”, a cover by Frank Sinatra of ‘Comme habitude (Claude Francois) was both a celebration and a poignant farewell, capturing the spirit of perseverance and individuality that defined these Olympics. The performance left a lasting impression on all who watched, serving as a reminder of the power of music to bring people together.

The 2024 Olympics will be remembered for many things, but these moments stand out as the highlights that captured the world’s attention. Whether you were cheering for your favorite athletes or simply enjoying the spectacle, these moments remind us of the power of sports to inspire, unite, and entertain.

Au revoir Paris! you’ve given us so many unforgettable moments.

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Travelling the world as an African Woman: A conversation with Tania from Kongo Travels

March 10, 2021

Meet Tania Mukwamu. She is the founder of the travel blog Kongo Travels. As you will see from this interview, Tania is a multi-passionate and multi-hyphenated woman who juggles motherhood, entrepreneurship ventures, and frequent travels. I had a chat with her shortly before Christmas 2020. We discussed her passion for traveling, her earliest travel memories and her dream destinations. She also shared a few tips for discovering the world on a budget.

In the second part of the interview ,we discussed her strategies for staying on top of content creation for her blog and most importantly, how does she balance it all.

Editor’s note : this article has been edited for length and clarity

WATCH / READ THE INTERVIEW VIDEO BELOW

(more…)

H.O.N Weekly : Your Weekly Roundup of Trending News

November 14, 2020

Here is a roundup of the top current affairs, lifestyle and entertainment news that has been trending for the past week.

1. POLITICS: Kamala Harris makes history has the first-ever woman to be elected vice-president in the US

On November 7th, 2020, four days after the American election day, numerous US media projected Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the winners of the presidential elections.

The 4 years of Trump’s presidency have been quite a ride. And this year’s campaign could be described as the most polarized and eventful yet. As of Monday, November 16th, Trump has not yet conceded defeat and he claimed on Twitter (in CAPS letter!) that he is the winner.

Kamala Harris will be the first-ever woman, furthermore woman of color, to occupy this position. She is the daughter of immigrants: her father is Jamaican and her late mother is Indian. In her victory speech, Harris thanked and honored her mother and all African-American women. The latter overwhelmingly showed up at the polls and voted for Biden and Harris (According to national polls, 95% of African-American women voted for the Democrats). They are hailed by many as the ‘backbone of US democracy”.

Listen to Kamala’s victory speech here :

Read this article to learn more about people like Stacey Abrams and Cori Bush, who worked tirelessly for years to put the Democrats back in the White House: the ‘Real MVPs’ of this year’s election (Source: XONecole)

2. WATCH: Beyonce releases behind-the-scene footage of her photoshoot with British Vogue

In the early hours of Monday, November 9th, Beyoncé released a short video of behind-the-scenes footage of her British Vogue photoshoot. The 4 minutes long video, titled ‘A Friday in September’, shows Beyoncé getting ready and playing model for the magazine shooting.

It didn’t go unnoticed to African -especially Congolese- music lovers that the video’s background music is a Congolese song titled Ngai Tembe Eleka, from the late, legendary musician, “Franco” Luambo Makiadi. Franco was a genius guitarist and acclaimed storyteller whose several hits are classics in Congolese music.

For this photoshoot, Beyonce requested to be photographed by a black woman. Read more about 21-year-old Kennedi Carter who was selected to shoot Queen Bey.

Beyonce is keeping her Beyhive excited with multiples projects. From the release of the movie Black is King (I still need to write my ‘think-piece’ on it ) in August to Ivy Park’s latest collection releases and now her interview and photoshoot with British Vogue.

3. MEET Elsa Majimbo, the Kenyan social media sensation who just won the “African Social Star of 2020” at E! People’s Choice Awards

Elsa Majimbo’s funny and witty attitude has kept us laughing during the quarantine and puts her in front of global audiences. She has since been featured on several South African media, spoke to CNN’s Anderson Cooper and, recently landed a Fenty Campaign.

Check out how Elsa has been rehearsing for international fame in her hilarious video below 🙂 .

When my tweet gets 20 likes pic.twitter.com/m4Pq4OelaQ
— Elsa Majimbo (@ElsaAngel19) July 11, 2020

Watch this interview to know more about Elsa Majimbo :

4. COVID-19: “Lockdown” has been declared ‘Word of The Year’ by Collins Dictionary

Lockdown, quarantine, coronavirus, social distancing… So many words have seen a sharp use during this year, due to the exceptional sanitary situation created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lexicographers registered more than 250,000 usages of the word “lockdown” during 2020, up from just 4,000 last year. (source : BBC)

Did you know or were you using some of these words before the year 2020? Social distancing is totally new to me.

5. TECH: Have you heard about Clubhouse, the latest social app?

Have you heard about Clubhouse, the new invite-only, voice-based social media app where you join and discuss with people in chat rooms? Well, if you haven’t yet, don’t worry you’re probably not the only one.

P.S When you tell your friends about Clubhouse, say that you first read about it here! 😉

The Clubhouse app is still in its beta version. For now, it seems like it’s mostly celebrities and a selected list of people that have been invited to try it out. So, until the rest of us are invited to hang with the cool kids and check it out, here’s how the New-York Times describes the app:

“Clubhouse is a social media app where venture capitalists have gathered to mingle with one another while they are quarantined in their homes. The app is, for now, invite-only, and buzzy: Seemingly everyone who has been allowed to join the early test version, from celebrities like MC Hammer to activists like DeRay Mckesson, has tweeted about it. And it has recently been one of the hottest deals on Sand Hill Road, Silicon Valley’s venture capital nexus.”

Are you eager to try a new social media app or you’re happy with Facebook and Twitter?

darkbean instagram fire facebook twitter GIF

Thanks for reading ! Let me know which story you enjoyed the most or which trending story I might have missed.

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H.O.N Weekly : Your Weekly Roundup of Trending News

September 13, 2020

Tributes continue to pour for Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman

Tributes continue to pour in for Black Panther eponymous star, Chadwick Boseman, who sadly passed away Friday 29 August. The public was shocked to hear that, Boseman, 43, was battling cancer for 4 years, shortly before his big break. Ex-co-stars and associates are coming forward with heart breaking tributes and anecdotes that only testify how amazing Chadwick was and how he deeply lived for his craft, his passion for the arts, his heritage and love for his community. He truly lived with passion and purpose. Read Ryan Coogler, The director or Black panther’s beautiful tribute to Chadwick here.

“Do safari companies really want African tourists”?

The COVID-19 pandemic, the closures of borders and numerous travel restrictions have put a strain on the hospitality and tourism industry. More specifically, the safari industry in Africa which cater mostly, if not exclusively, to international tourists. The prospect of long months of empty lodges have made, this luxury industry to review their strategy and target local customers. The move didn’t go down really well with locals who felt overlooked for a long time.

A Tanzanian man, who committed himself to travel extensively his country, after living for many years abroad, says: “Even though places are becoming more accessible to us right now, the experiences are still not equal to those offered to foreigners,” he said. “When I stay someplace, they aren’t as invested in me as a guest. They don’t give suggestions for places nearby to see or excursions to go on and things to try, but foreigners — that’s all provided at length.” He then adds: “But since Covid started I’ve found myself wondering, ‘Why don’t I support really local business, especially when the foreign ones never wanted my money before?’”. Interesting read via the New-York Times.

Congolese’s virologist Dr Muyembe lifelong work on Ebola is coming to screen

After several pictures of American actors Richard T. Jones (Why did I get married and owner of Prophecy Pictures Entertainments) visiting Kinshasa, it has been reported that Jones and Eric Kasongo, owner of the production house, Emotive are currently working on a biopic for Dr Muyembe.

Dr Jean-Jacque Muyembe-Tamfum, is a world-renowmed microbiologist, and the actual director of the INRBM, the Institut National de la Recherche BioMedicale. In 1976, he was part of a medical team that discovered Ebola in at a hospital in a small northern village in Congo (then Zaire). In 2016, Dr Muyembe, played again an essential role in the most recent outbreak, in researching a treatment protocal, including testing trial vaccines. He is currently heading the national outbreak response of COVID-19.

Despite being the first doctor to collect Ebola sample, his crucial role in the discovery and long life research against Ebola was overlooked. For the longest time, all the credits went to a Belgian microbiologist doctor, Dr Peter Piot. This raises again, the question of erasing African Black scientists of their important contributions in the sciences and medical field.

It’s time Dr Muyembe get the worldwide recognition he deserves. (Full story in French via Zoom Eco. net. )

Watch: Anthony Mmesoma Madu, future ballet prodigy from Lagos

I’m sure in June you’ve came across the beautiful video of a young ballet dancer from Nigeria, dancing under the rain. Anthony Mmesoma Madu, 11, has now received a scholarship offer from Cynthia Harvey, former Prima Ballerina and now director of the American Theater Baller of New-York. Hopefully, this will be a long-term partnership with Daniel Ojala, the self-taught ballet teacher, from the Leap of Dance Academy, a school that provides quality ballet education to indigenous young artists. Follow them on their Instagram page.

Jerusalema : let’s dance with the South African hit taking the world by storm!

Jerusalema is one of the biggest global hits that came out of South Africa this year. It is a song by South Africa DJ and record producer Master KG. It features gospel singer and vocalist Nomcebo. The gospel-afropop song was first uploaded in November 2019 on YouTube. A video followed in January 2020. However, the song became a global sensation, after the #Jerusalemachallenge quickly went viral on social media. The challenge started when a group of dancers from Angola, uploaded a choreography of them dancing to the song, with plates of food. The rest of Africa, then the world, quickly joined in the fun. On September 8, it has broken the record of the most ‘Shazamed’ song. The news was posted on Shazam twitter account.