For many years judo and especially the Paris Grand Slam have a special history with this venue, since the early 2000s to be very precise. Before that date, what was then called the 'Tournoi de Paris' was hosted in the Stade Pierre de Coubertin where the first edition of the event was organised in February 1971. Reserved initially only for men until 1988, the tournament then integrated the female categories.
It took another 12 years, during which the stands and the corridors of 'Coubertin' vibrated under the impact of the ippons of the champions of the whole world, before judo made its big move, up the Seine a few kilometres, to settle in the AccorHotels Arena. Since then, Bercy has become one of the temples of judo, in which one must, at least once in a life at a high-level, have competed and if possible won a medal.
At the time the French Judo Federation was asked to move the event for calendar reasons, it is not to say that the challenge was enormous. How to go from a 4,000 seating capacity in Coubertin, to more than 15,000 in the Bercy at once? But the challenge was successfully met by the FFJDA, and upon entry to Bercy, the arena was already full of spectators and champions.
With a gauge that can now rise to nearly 18,000 spectators, it must be said that Bercy is a real cauldron that adds a little pressure on the shoulders of competitors when climbing on the tatami and that generates an atmosphere like no other in the stands. Whether it is the athletes themselves of course, but also the audience, whether one enters through the entrance of the spectators or by the 'artists' gate, everyone dreams one day to push the doors of Bercy.
To have participated in the Paris Grand Slam and to have obtained a medal are pledges of a successful career and if a world or Olympic title remain the holy grail for any athlete, watching your national flag rise under the roof of Bercy and hearing your anthem always generates the same chills along the spine.
Any judoka has their own memories, their own stories about the Grand Slam and going to Paris in early February guarantees to hear lots of stories.
So yes, for sure Paris Grand Slam is always placed at the beginning of the season (except in 2015, when the reopening of the stadium after reconstruction pushed the event to October, judo being the first event organised in the new Bercy), and so yes, it offers a good indication on the forces, especially in 2018 when we are a few months from the start of Olympic qualifications. But the Paris Grand Slam is something else, it is more than a date in the calendar, and this other thing is perhaps, probably, linked to the fact that it is the rendezvous of the legends.
Some of them were made on the Parisian tatami, while they were on their way to the top of the world or on their way to Olympic glories; others ended their career here after years of hard work and several medals, but what is certain is that on February 10 and 11, once again, Olympic qualification or not, the whole international community will not want to miss the rendezvous.
Buses from all over France will take the direction of Paris and will fill the underground parking of Bercy, trains and planes will bring fans from all over Europe, or even further, to encourage competitors. And to date there are already nearly 500 of them, from 74 nations who are registered.
Such a legend is not built in a day and the involvement of hundreds of volunteers, officials of the French Federation and the International Federation dedicate their time to make the Paris Grand Slam THE tournament of this beginning of year.
The old legends are not mistaken either because they will all be there, in the stands, to observe, comment and dissect the judo of the new generation of great champions. This is also one of the charms of this Grand Slam: you can buy a sandwich between two fights and have the guarantee of falling on a former medallist of the tournament or a world or Olympic winner. Bercy for two days is an anthill of world judo legends.
For judge aficionados, the thrill is guaranteed. But newcomers have also to be there because there is everything to learn by spending two days on the seats of Bercy to feel them vibrating with each movement, to explode with joy at each ippon, especially if it is marked by a local judoka, to be happy or to desperate of seeing your best players advance in the tournament or be blocked at the foot of the podium. Everything is possible at the Grand Slam of Paris, anything can happen and that's what makes it the legend that continues to be written year after year.
Photos IJF Media by Gabriela Sabau