Tatsiana Chypsanava

The arrangement to hold the 2024 Paris Olympic competition in Tahiti has produced conflicting emotions on the island. There is pride and excitement, Tahitians say, over the money to be made and over capturing the world’s attention. But there is fear of overdevelopment harming the local environment, as well as some long-held, complicated feelings about France’s colonization of the islands, which sit in the South Pacific, about 2,700 miles south of Hawaii. The Heiva festival, deeply rooted in Polynesian traditions since the 19th century, embodies a celebration of indigenous culture, offering a counterpoint to Western influences. It features competitions like coconut tree climbing and traditional dance, which reflect and reinforce Tahitian identity and heritage, often suppressed in the past by colonial powers.