Mark Chestnut is at Parc de Vilette walking past Bass Brazil and Taiwan House at the sprawling public space that has been dedicated to the national hospitality houses, which is a growing Olympics trend. Chestnut has a cotton scarf covered with Olympic pins around his neck weighing him down.
The American from a town near Chicago in the midwest has collected hundreds of pins from his trips to 12 Olympic Games—summer and winter included— and one of the things he looks forward to most is to collect new pins and trade with what he carries around.
“My favourite pins never come out. All of these,” he says pointing to the pins around his neck, “belong to my trading collection. My backpack is also full of Olympic pins and they are also for trading. I have plenty of prized and rare pins back home that I’d never part with,” says Chestnut.
Also Read: Catch HT's comprehensive coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics here
Though he was in Paris in time for the opening ceremony, he had no interest in attending it. He watched it on a big screen at a Parisian bar. “All opening and closing ceremonies are much, much better on TV. It is a complete waste of money attending one in person because you hardly get to see anything from that distance and the tickets are always very expensive. Of the dozen Olympics I have been to, I have attended just one. Never again. It was not a great experience. The sports and pin trading, on the other hand, are great,” says Chestnut.
{{/usCountry}}Though he was in Paris in time for the opening ceremony, he had no interest in attending it. He watched it on a big screen at a Parisian bar. “All opening and closing ceremonies are much, much better on TV. It is a complete waste of money attending one in person because you hardly get to see anything from that distance and the tickets are always very expensive. Of the dozen Olympics I have been to, I have attended just one. Never again. It was not a great experience. The sports and pin trading, on the other hand, are great,” says Chestnut.
{{/usCountry}}The other thing Chestnut, who is attending the Olympics with his friend Andrew, has been enjoying in Paris is visiting the various national hospitality houses. “Go to the Czechia House, it is an absolutely wild party in there with great beer. Definitely don’t go to the USA House because the entry fee is more than $300 and then you still have to pay for stuff,” he adds.