When the Olympics opened in Paris in 1924, the French capital was already gripped by a ferocious blend of art, literature, cinema, fashion and a wild desire to dance. Sport merged into this culture to become the pinnacle of an extraordinary time, as Mary Miers reveals.

The 1924 Olympics tapped into women’s new-found liberation, reflected in Jacqueline Marval’s Bather in a Black Swimsuit, 1920–23. Credit: Private collection, courtesy Comité Jacqueline Marval Paris. ©Nicolas Rouxdit Buisson
When the Olympics opened in Paris in 1924, the French capital was already gripped by a ferocious blend of art, literature, cinema, fashion and a wild desire to dance. Sport merged into this culture to become the pinnacle of an extraordinary time, as Mary Miers reveals.