PARIS (Reuters) - The Paris Olympics have revealed a new endurance sport - bagpipe-busking from Melbourne to Paris.
Skateboarding and its array of tricks like the half pipe may be hitting the Paris 2024 streets for the first time, but a lone bagpiper was looking to win over the crowds on Wednesday for an all-new event.
Australian Neil Marriott set off from Melbourne in March with the aim of busking his way to the World Pipe Band Championships due to be held in Glasgow on Aug. 16 and 17.
With just a few weeks to go he has made it to Paris.
With a view of the River Seine where triathlon athletes had taken a dip earlier in the day and the Eiffel Tower where beach volleyball players were kicking up sand, Marriott was blowing his lungs out amid the sweltering summer sun.
"I was in Germany for a month during the (soccer) Euros and now I'm hoping for a few good tunes and to make some friends while I'm here over the next couple of weeks," he told Reuters after performing "Scotland the brave" at the request of a passer-by.
Marriott, whose busking box was filling up nicely as sports fans stopped to listen, will join up with his band of 50 fellow pipers, the Scotch College Melbourne.
With a lot of puff needed to bang out a tune, the stamina would be enough for any Olympian. Could the bagpipes make it as a new sport given skateboarding and breakdancing have?
"l think there's room maybe one day, because the marching band aspect of piping has declined a little bit, the musical aspect's taken over," he said. "Maybe marching bands will make a comeback and that can be regarded as a sport which could be an Olympic sport."
If dedication to the discipline is a key attribute, then Marriott, who has Scottish roots, could certainly be a future flag bearer.
When asked what he does other than bagpiping, he responded:
"Bagpiping. Always... Teaching, performing."
(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
