Why is French used to announce competitors into any arena in the Olympics?
From the ZipZap France web page.
http://www.ambafrance.org.uk/zipzap/anglais/chap4/francophonie.htm
"It [French] is also the official language of the Olympic Games in
honour of Pierre de Coubertin, the creator of the modern Olympics."
The IOC has two offical languages English and French (Rule 27 - IOC
Charter). Both languages are used to introduce competitors and all
IOC documents are in both English and French. However, at IOC
meetings, simultaneous translation is also provided into German,
Spanish, Russian and Arabic. In the event of any discrepancy
between the French and English in the Olympic Charter or any other
IOC document, the French text prevails.