Ukraine uses Olympic spotlight to capture global attention and fight war fatigue
PARIS — Ukraine’s Olympic house stands out for its somber atmosphere, with fewer celebrations and parties than the other fan clubhouses that countries set up to tout their athletes and culture. It has moments of silence for war victims and screens documentaries about the destruction.
Organizers’ goal is to keep Russia’s invasion of Ukraine front of mind for everyday people after more than two years of war.
Many have grown weary of the waves of devastation in Ukraine. Plus, global attention has shifted elsewhere — to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza or elections in the U.S. — but without that spotlight, Kyiv could find it increasingly difficult to secure more military aid from Western allies to withstand the grinding war of attrition.
With all eyes on the 2024 Olympics, Ukraine seized the moment to spread its message that it was seeking more than medals — it was vying for the world’s attention.
“Sport cannot be separate from the war because the war destroys everyone,” said Yaroslava Gres, co-founder of the Ukrainian communications agency Gres Todorchuk. “The pain that Ukraine is experiencing, and the need to convey it and evoke empathy and solidarity — that is the hardest part.”
At the Paris Games, Ukrainians harnessed different ways to share their story — including evocative art exhibits and Olympians using their victories to speak out.
And Ukraine House was a central hub for this. There’s a replica of a makeshift barbell with wheels, which was all Olympic high jumper Andriy Protsenko could find to keep in shape during the Russian occupation in the Kherson region.
Kherson, the provincial capital occupied by Russia, is back in Ukrainian hands. But its people face privation, along with neighbor-against-neighbor suspicions.
Visitors could try out the heavy makeshift barbell, laughing as they struggled with the weight, and posed for photos. As they did, they learned the story of the athlete who made it to the Olympics despite harsh conditions.
“It’s very clever, I mean, to engage people in a fun way,” said Holli Abrahams, who was visiting from the U.S. “I think it’s always helpful to come, you know, talk to people who have experienced things, to get more connected to what’s going on. But I wish we knew more.”
Compared with other fan zones, Ukraine House is relatively modest compared with bustling Club France or India House, which thumps with traditional music.
Ukrainian athletes stopped by, including world-record high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who said winning Olympic gold gave her a spotlight to talk about the war.
“The gold medalists receive more attention than silver or bronze medalists,” Mahuchikh said of her push to make the attention count for Ukraine. “That’s why it’s important to win now.”
Just 15 Russian athletes were competing at the Games as neutrals under International Olympic Committee restrictions that also banned them from team sports following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
In Russia, the Olympics are shown in a negative light or not at all in the media, and Moscow has refused to send athletes in some sports.
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For Ukrainian organizers, they aimed to provide deeper insights by showing documentaries about athletes affected by the war, cities under Russian occupation and life during the blackouts after Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
“I don’t think everyone knows how it feels — the effects of what’s happened — or appreciates how meaningful it is both for the Ukrainians and for the rest of the world,” said Matthew Abrahams, a U.S. visitor.
“And that’s something we’re happy to be here to learn a little bit more about and also something we acknowledge that we could be paying probably better attention to on a daily basis.”
Most popular at Ukraine House were the food cart, offering traditional Ukrainian cuisine such as the beetroot soup borscht, and the souvenir shop featuring embroidered shirts known as vyshyvankas and much more.
Ukraine also looked to connect with visitors by showcasing its culture through well-known artists, including 2016 Eurovision song contest winner Jamala and celebrity chef Yevhen Klopotenko.
“After 2½ years of full-scale invasion, it would be an illusion to think that foreigners, including residents of the European Union or the United States — our key allies — aren’t getting tired of seeing the same horrific images of destruction, fires and casualties,” said Gres of the communications agency.
“It has all turned into white noise for them.”
She co-founded the firm behind a banner unveiled during the Ukraine-Belgium soccer match at the European Championship in June that featured the AI-generated image of Nazarii “Hrinka” Hryntsevych, a fallen soldier and soccer fan.
“Using any nontraditional communication strategies is a significant boost for Ukraine on the international stage,” Gres said.
Shifting the focus to Ukrainian culture, sports and art is another way to keep foreign attention.
“You will protect those you know,” she said. “So it’s necessary to create more awareness about who Ukrainians are.”
With that in mind, Lidiia Guzhva, an artist who is also in the military, curated an exhibition that tried to convey the emotional experience of life during the war.
“I wanted to create a project that would speak directly from heart to heart, using words that are understandable to every person,” she said.
It showcased evocative paintings of naked women with severed arms, symbolizing vulnerability and helplessness during wartime.
The space reverberated with the sounds of air raid sirens, recorded by Guzhva. A white wardrobe with two high windows wrapped crosswise in tape — a common method to protect against blast waves from bombings — stood closed, with a sign saying, “Storage of unprocessed emotions and feelings.”
Guzhva said visitors often would start crying.
“And once you’ve felt it, you’ll never forget it,” she said.
“And then our problems will no longer be just abstract issues from some unknown letters on the internet, but the problems of people you understand with your heart.”
Arhirova writes for the Associated Press.
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