Pharrell Wants to Bring Back Arts Competitions to the Olympics
Raising awareness at an event held at the Louis Vuitton Foundation.
Pharrell Williams has a vision: bringing arts competitions back to the Olympics, a tradition lost for nearly 80 years. According to a report by the Associated Press, Williams is picturing a world where the biggest sports stage also celebrates the finest in sculpture, architecture, and visual arts. Pharrell argued for the arts to be reintroduced in the Olympics by 2028 during his star-studded Louis Vuitton event in Paris last week. Speaking passionately before the event, he said, “The Olympics once had arts competitions. Sculpture, architecture, visual arts. Let’s remind everyone of that legacy and seize this moment to bring awareness.”
The arts were first part of the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, where medals were awarded for architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture. This continued until 1948, when the International Olympic Committee decided to cut the arts competitions, and a later attempt to revive them failed in 1952.
At the Louis Vuitton Foundation, Pharrell hosted an event that drew an A-list crowd that included LeBron James, Steven Spielberg, Mick Jagger, Zendaya, Anna Wintour, Charlize Theron, Serena Williams, Rosalía, Snoop Dogg, Queen Latifah, and more. Inside, the artist described it feeling like an “indoor carnival,” with interactive art installations by renowned artists like KAWS, Daniel Arsham, and Derek Fordjour.
With donations pouring in throughout the event, Pharrell aimed to support Olympic hopefuls and 36 athletes from 11 different countries competing on the Refugee Olympic Team this year.
