• A resident of Meaux (Seine-et-Marne), Sala Cissé will take care of the musical programming of the Athletics Federation's events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
  • With his experience at the last Summer Olympics in Tokyo, he will have to set the mood during sports events and medal ceremonies.
  • The challenge is to "find what works" to dramatize what is happening on the ground, he explains.

"There are 478 days left before the opening ceremony of the [Paris 2024] Olympics," says Sala Cissé, consulting the countdown he has installed on his computer. From the helm of the J-500, the pressure is intensifying for this Seine-et-Marnais which will ensure the musical programming of the athletics events during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. From the qualifiers, to the finals, not to mention the medal presentations, no celebration will be deprived of its music. Stressed, but proud to represent his department at this highly anticipated competition, this Ile-de-France native is not in his turn to warm up.

For thirteen years, he has regularly hosted sports competitions, political think tanks, conferences and military ceremonies. He was even hired to provide musical entertainment for the athletics events of the last Summer Olympics in Tokyo. "A real challenge because we had to set the mood in a stadium of 110,000 seats, completely empty [because of health restrictions]," he recalls.

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, the challenge will be quite different. By "playing at home", he exposes himself to the gaze of his relatives, his wife and his children, but also to that of the officials of the Federation who have placed their trust in him. "I definitely don't want to disappoint them," he says.

Sound to hook the viewer

If the musical programming is not necessarily what we remember most about a sporting event, Sala Cissé says that it "is crucial to focus the attention of the public. Especially since in recent years, this type of competition is more and more of a show. » Putting victory music on each successful high jump or a low sound when the tension is at its peak, at the start of the 100 meters... The important thing is to "find what works" to dramatize what is happening on the field, hook the audience, and turn the sporting event into a party.

"And above all we must not make the wrong national anthem at the time of the presentation of the medals, to avoid that a stupidity does not create diplomatic worries," jokes, but half-year-old, the forty-year-old. These ceremonies remain "particularly chiadées". Olympic anthem, then national anthem of the country of each athlete rewarded are de rigueur. His musical creativity will be expressed during the animation of the sporting events, for which he has carte blanche.

An opportunity for the programmer to have fun, by listening to his favorite bands such as Riot or Zedd. Sala Cissé even thinks of taking the opportunity to discover a musician friend, losing motivation, to encourage him to put his foot back in the stirrup.

Promoting French musical heritage

In agreement with the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (Cojo), Sala Cissé wishes to highlight the French musical heritage during the competitions, while composing "with what is done today". A lot of mixing work will therefore be necessary to broadcast the most famous music of Johnny Hallyday, Edith Piaf or Jacques Brel, between two electro sounds. "There will be a lot of improvisation," he says. We will do tests the first few days, especially in the morning, to see what takes or does not take in the public."


To succeed in such a challenge is performance, not sporting but physical all the same. "At the end of some sessions, I'm completely flushed," he says. At the slightest technical defect, you have to be very reactive while dealing with nervousness. The enthusiast plans to use the remaining 478 days to improve his skills. This summer, he is hosting the two-week World Athletics Championships in Budapest, in conditions similar to those of the Olympics. "It's going to serve as a training for me."

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