The life and times of the President of the International Olympic Committee is full of obligations, and never more so than during the Olympic Games.  In Paris on June 24, 1924—the day after he participated in the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the modern Games with the President of France before a full auditorium at the Sorbonne—Baron Pierre de Coubertin delivered another speech at the Hotel de Ville to the Mayor of Paris, the Prefect of the Seine and various officials from Île-de-France.  In his brief address, he gave his audience a sense of the strength and reach of the Olympic Movement at the time, proclaiming its vitality and its ability to survive any challenge. And as he wrapped up his speech, he assured them of his pleasure in celebrating the Games of the Eighth Olympiad in the city of his birth.

“… The ocean of sport seems to have its ups and downs just like the salt ocean. Sporting mutualism, if I may use the expression, is at the beginning of its career, and has much ado to control such a current. The modern world is better placed in this respect than the ancient world, because sport has become completely international and we may therefore hope that this movement will not stop, since if it were to weaken at one point it would revive at another.

"Mr. President and Mr. Prefect, in the name of our colleagues, I again proffer all our thanks. In this illustrious and brilliant Town Hall we are happy and charmed to be able to offer you the homage of the International Olympic Committee and, forgetting for a moment that Paris is my native town, and knowing with certainty that I am complying with the intimate wishes of all my colleagues from the other countries, I ask your permission to cry ‘Long live Paris!’”