All eyes on Biles: American in dazzling return despite injury ‘They shuffled in, pursued by the flashing red dots of a thousand phone cameras’    -  Jonathan Liew on the celebrity crowd 29 Jul 2024 - The Guardian Tumaini Carayol - Bercy Arena As Simone Biles offered herself a few final quiet words of encouragement by the balance beam before she returned to compete in front of the world once again, the entire spectacle could have been so overwhelming. Bercy Arena was exploding with excitement whenever her name was mentioned. Countless celebrities, from Tom Cruise to Ariana Grande, lined the stands and flashed up on the screens. All eyes were on Biles, and she knew it. The competition draw that Biles and her US teammates received was also unhelpful. They were required to start on the balance beam, the most unpredictable apparatus and the event that exposes all tension and uncertainty. If you cannot control your nerves, you will fall. But Biles effortlessly worked her way th...

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/28/simone-biles-returns-to-olympics-as-the-circus-screams-on-around-her Biles nails dazzling performance amid celebrity circus The VIPs have hooked themselves to the US star’s cultural celebrity,  desperate to bathe in her reflected glory Jonathan Liew at Bercy Arena - Sun 28 Jul 2024 19.00 CEST The Guardian The loge boxes and the VIP seats lie empty for most of the morning. After all, this is precious croissant and champagne time, and nobody wants to waste it on gymnasts no one has heard of. A few minutes before the start of the second subdivision, they shuffle out of the lounges and executive suites and down the steps, pursued by the flashing red dots of a thousand phone cameras. We have Tom Cruise and Snoop Dogg. We have Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. We have John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Greta Gerwig and Jessica Chastain, the Jonas Brothers, the now-ubiquitous Anna Wintour, whose main leisure activity these days seems to b...