This week’s spotlight image encapsulates the growing excitement for the impending Olympic games. The cityscape of Paris, who narrowly missed out on its chance to play host to the 2012 games, bristles with anticipation for the forthcoming summer Olympics. The last time Paris hosted the games was almost a century ago in 1924.
There’s just one week remaining before the opening ceremony commences. Organisers have strategically displayed the Olympic rings throughout the city for enthusiasts to snap selfies with. The torch has been making its rounds, the aviation workers previously threatening to strike have secured their special “Olympic bonus”, and the city’s Mayor, Anne Hidalgo, demonstrated the cleanliness of the Seine waters with her recent swim, which is set to be the site for the swimming marathon and triathlons.
While it may sound odd that the French authorities feel the need to remind people about Paris’ charm, they hope that the Olympics will leave a legacy of increased tourism, given its scenic surroundings are not just limited to the Seine.
Other iconic locations will also feature in the games’ backdrop; the beach volleyball games will be held in the vicinity of the Eiffel Tower; the Grand Palais will host fencing and taekwondo; and the newly introduced Olympic sport, break dancing (now dropped for Los Angeles 2028), is set to hold contests at Place de la Concorde. However, will the games’ organisers strike gold or will they narrowly miss making it to the top three spots?
In other news, the movie Hillbilly Elegy, a Netflix production based on JD Vance’s memoir, saw 19.2 million minutes streamed the day he was disclosed as Donald Trump’s vice-presidential candidate, according to US streaming data company Luminate.
Considering the film’s 171-minute runtime, this equates to nearly 164,000 full views. The film stars well-known actors Amy Adams, Glenn Close and Gabriel Basso, who played Vance, but was criticised upon its release in 2020.
Interestingly, a whopping 1,179% increase in Hillbilly Elegy watch time on Netflix was observed compared to the previous day when Vance was just one of the potential vice-presidential candidates.
This week also introduces us to Joshua Schulman.
At the luxury fashion house, Burberry, changes in leadership occur rather frequently. This week heralded a change of guard, with Joshua Schulman taking over the reins from his predecessor, Jonathan Akeroyd, who left after serving a brief stint of two and a half years “by mutual agreement with the board”. The shift comes in the backdrop of Burberry’s gloomy prediction of potential losses for the first half of 2024.
Los Angeles-born Schulman brings with him experience of leading iconic American brands including Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, and Coach. He steps into a company that had been navigating a brand “refocus” under the leadership of Akeroyd and newly appointed creative designer, Daniel Lee. This included new initiatives such as the introduction of a brand new hue named “Burberry Blue”.
However, the firm has been grappling with a surplus inventory due to a demand-supply mismatch, presenting a different kind of ‘blue period’ for the British brand.
The business climate in Texas has been beckoning companies with open arms, evident from Elon Musk relocating headquarters of his companies X and SpaceX to the state. This follows in the footsteps of several other enterprises.
Toyota was amongst the early pioneers to move to Texas, transferring its US sales headquarters from Torrance, near Los Angeles, to Plano in Texas about a decade ago.
In 2019, the renowned financial services company, Charles Schwab, known for piloting low-cost stock trades in the US during the mid-1970s, relocated from San Francisco to Westlake, Texas.
By the time Hewlett-Packard moved its headquarters from San Jose in California to Houston in Texas, during 2020, it was clear that Texas was a magnet for business migration.
Oracle, the database software giant, also relocated its headquarters from Redwood, California to Austin, Texas in 2020.
Musk has been down this path before with his electric vehicle company, Tesla, moving its headquarters from Palo Alto, California to the tech hub of Austin’s “Silicon Hills” in 2021.