The role of Snoop Dogg at the Olympic Games

It all starts with the opening ceremony. Snoop Dogg carries the Olympic torch through the streets of Paris, specifically in the metropolitan area of Saint-Denis: he is one of the torchbearers chosen for the usual marathon. It's fair to wonder how the artist ended up there, and the answer is quite unusual. He is one of NBC's special correspondents, the New York broadcasting company specifically chose Snoop Dogg as their representative, a figure who knows how to handle TV very well and adapts effortlessly to any context he is placed in, a true showman. This very talent has made him a successful entrepreneur, achieving such a consecrated status that many might have forgotten his career, his "real" profession. Snoop Dogg - after a promising a respectable fee from NBC - must have been thoroughly briefed. His task for this Olympics was simply to be himself, a modern court jester who, through skits and appearances, is sweetening the viewing experience of the sporting event; laughter never hurts.

So far, the 52-year-old Snoop has participated in the torch relay during the opening ceremony on Friday, carrying the Olympic flame accompanied by French actress Laetitia Casta and French rapper MC Solaar. In a post-ceremony interview for NBC Sports, Dogg didn't hesitate to spice up his routine speech with charming phrases for the patriotic - and often populist - American audience, comparing himself to the greatest athletes in history and speaking clumsily about peace, in a historically challenging time in this regard. «I felt like Muhammad Ali», Snoop Dogg said, continuing by stating «I found out that when you carry the torch you become a messenger of peace. I shook and kissed the hands of children, left my mark, letting people know that we are here for a reason. We are here for peace, love, and great sportsmanship».

Furthermore, Snoop Dogg entertained the audience while having fun himself. He showed enthusiasm by performing a dance and displaying a t-shirt with Simone Biles' face following the athlete's performance and the entire USA gymnastics team's success, which denied the Italian National team the gold. It was as if Snoop Dogg had also transformed into a cheerleader for these Olympics - in fact, he didn't just offer moral support to Simone Biles, but also to Coco Gauff and volleyball players Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes, in the same manner, as if he were an excited uncle watching his niece compete.

In the promotional video for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Snoop did not hold back and wore a swim cap and goggles to challenge him 1vs1, calling him the GOAT. Phelps took the opportunity to explain that Olympic-level success in the pool requires wingspan and "lungs power". Snoop did not miss the chance to reference his love for marijuana.

Marijuana is precisely the gimmick Dogg used to entertain the Olympic viewers. First of all, because seeing him carry a torch is already quite a humorous double entendre - albeit predictable - and has already generated many memes on platforms like Reddit. Tennis player Coco Gauff showed in the stories on her Instagram profile the pin created for Snoop Dogg by the Olympics, depicting him exhaling smoke to form the Olympic rings, which will obviously not be sold but distributed by the artist himself to selected athletes. There are still many days left until the end of the Olympics, and we can only wait for more amusing gags signed by Snoop Dogg.