PARIS– Covered in brooches and adornments, Vivianne Robinson is hard to miss through the streets of Paris.
The Olympics superfan has attended seven Summer Games over 40 years. But this trip to Paris came at a high price – $10,000, to be precise.
Robinson, 66, from Los Angeles, maxed out his credit card and worked two jobs to pay for the trip and the 38 event tickets he purchased. She worked in Venice beach during the day, putting names on rice necklaces and packing groceries at night. She said she will have to work two more years to make up for the money she spent following her passion for the Summer Olympics in Paris.
“It was difficult to save and the budget is big, but it is worth it a thousand times over,” she says.
Still, she was disappointed to pay $1,600 per the opening ceremony only to end up watching a screen on a bridge. “Do you know how long it takes to make that much money?” she asked, eventually adding, “But things happen in life and life goes on and you win if you lose some.”
During his interview, a passerby suggests that Robinson use his fame to open an account and ask people to help fund his passion.
“Does not matter. Eventually I can make money,” she responds.
Robinson’s fascination with the Olympics began when his mother worked as a translator for athletes at the University of California, Los Angeles, during the 1984 Olympics in the city. The mother would come home after work with athlete pins that she passed to her daughter.
Her new hobby of collecting badges took her to Atlanta in 1996, where she made rice necklaces for athletes in exchange for their badges.
“I got all the pins and got to meet all the athletes. And at that time there was no maximum security like there is now”, she recalls. “Now you can’t even get close to the athletes’ village.”
From there: Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, London 2012 and Rio 2016. She got a visa for Beijing 2008, but ended up not being able to pay for the trip. Tokyo was equally doomed: She bought tickets but was refunded when COVID-19 spiked and the Games were carried out without spectators.
Robinson’s clothes started out simply but became more complex over time. She spent a year working on her Parisian costume, decorating it with hundreds of adornments. Dozens of Eiffel Tower ornaments hang from her hat, just above her Olympic ring earrings. Affixed to her clothes are patches, pins and flags.
Your outfit attracts attention. Not a minute goes by before someone stops Robinson to take a photo with or of her. She does it with a smile on her face, but admits it can be too much.
“It’s a little overwhelming. I can’t get anywhere because everyone stops me to take photos. It takes a long time to get to the locations, but that’s okay,” she says.
And she says she feels a little like the celebrities she’s so excited to have seen – like Tom Cruise, Lady Gaga and Snoop Dogg in gymnastics.
Once these Olympics are over, she’ll start working on the next one, from working on her looks to saving up for tickets, whatever the cost.
“Oh, I’m going to do this forever. I’m going to save all my money and just focus on the Olympics,” she said.
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For more Paris Olympics coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games.
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