If you see a huge head of a French sports person floating in the crowd at the Paris Olympics, fear not: your eyes do not deceive you. Spectators have been holding these cut-outs as they watch. We explain why and how it is not just the sign of a super-supportive fan.

Heads recently seen include swimmers Léon Marchand and Maxime Grousset in the Paris La Défense Arena, and judo bronze medallist Clarisse Agbégnénou at the Arena Champ-de-Mars – but they have been seen across other venues too, heralding some of the events’ big names. 

Mr Marchand, in particular, has emerged as a star at the Paris Games, taking gold for the 400m individual medley event in just 4 minutes 2.95 seconds. He broke the record set by US swimming champion Michael Phelps, and came an incredible 5.67 seconds ahead of

he second-placed competitor, Japan’s ­Tomo­yuki Matsushita. ­Carson Foster of the US took bronze.

A supportive face in the crowd

But the ‘floating’ cut-out faces are not just a sign of super-supportive fans as their idols win medals.

In fact, the faces come from the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, as part of plans to drum up (in some cases, literally drum) support and atmosphere during the Games.

Licence-holders from different sporting federations apply to carry these giant faces during the events, and the holder can even attend the event free of charge. The scheme also allows volunteers to collect flags and drums, to make noise in the stands and cheer on the French champions.

Sports included in the scheme are from the events in which French competitors are taking part, such as judo, fencing, mountain biking and horse riding at Versailles.