Producer and rapper Pharrell Williams proposed reintroducing the arts competitions at the Olympics—a tradition last seen almost 80 years ago—for the 2028 games. He spoke to his proposition at a luxurious, high-profile party at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris on Thursday. The party was organized by Williams, LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, NBCUniversal chairman Brian Roberts, and Anna Wintour.
Arts competitions were part of the Olympic Games starting in 1912 in Stockholm. Medals were offered across five arts categories: architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture. These competitions were discontinued after the 1948 Olympics, and an effort to revive them in 1952 was unsuccessful. Now, Williams is advocating for the arts competitions to be a part of the upcoming 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“We get to remind people that at one point, the Olympics actually had the arts as a section that ran all these competitions,” Williams said before the event, as reported by the Associated Press. “Sculpture, architecture, visual arts. The idea we get to put the arts back in….Why not take this moment to bring awareness?”
First announced in early July, the event—which Williams referred to as an “indoor carnival”—was hosted by Williams along with co-hosts Charlize Theron, Serena Williams, Rosalía, and Omar Sy. Williams also invited several artists, including Daniel Arsham, Derek Fordjour, and KAWS, to create interactive installations for the event. Notable attendees included LeBron James, Steven Spielberg, Mick Jagger, Zendaya, Snoop Dogg, Queen Latifah, and Zac Efron.
The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris kicked off with the opening ceremony on Friday.
