Summer Olympics, Toumani Diabaté and Mon Jajaja

Weekend Passport 03.13

Passport 03.13

Weekend Passport is Stranger's Guide's weekly subscribers-only newsletter curated by Deputy Publisher, Ambia Elias. Each week we bring you globally-inspired recommendations for your weekend activities from the team and friends of Stranger’s Guide.

Watch: 2024 Summer Olympic Games

The 2024 Summer Olympic Games officially begin tomorrow, July 26! From tennis to gymnastics, archery to soccer—sorry, football—there’s so much to tune into over the next few weeks. The opening ceremony including all 10,500 athletes participating in this year’s games will take place in the heart of Paris along the Seine at 10:30am PDT/1:30pm EDT. With Lebron James and Coco Gauff as Team USA’s flag bearers, Team Mongolia dressed to impress in their striking uniform collection and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team, which is made up of 37 athletes representing more than 100 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, this opening ceremony will be an exciting start to what is sure to be a memorable Summer Olympics. You can watch the opening ceremony and the rest of the games live on NBC or here on Peacock and keep up with the schedule here. 

Listen: Toumani Diabaté

Last weekend, the Malian legend and Grammy Award-winning artist, Toumani Diabaté passed away at the age of 58. Widely referred to as Mali’s “King of Kora,” Diabaté was a renowned master of the kora, a string instrument used throughout West Africa combining features of the lute and harp. The son of Sidiki Diabaté—who was also referred to as “King of Kora” before Toumani took the crown—Toumani came from a long line of musicians and griots, West African historians, musicians and storytellers, tracing his musical family back 71 generations. Watch this performance of “Jarabi” with his son, Sidiki Diabaté Jr. or listen to the original composition of what OkayAfrica called “one of his greatest songs,” here on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube.

Watch: Maituo Guitar