This year, for our summer visit to France, I pleaded with Jean-Pierre to avoid Paris and the Olympics, dreading the traffic, crowds, stress and chaos. He reluctantly agreed. But as I watched the audacious opening ceremony, the breathtaking sports performances, the familiar streets and monuments, and the jubilant crowds—first from Portugal, then from the US—all I wanted was to return to my beloved Paris and be part of the collective effervescence!
Collective effervescence is a term coined by the French sociologist Émile Durkheim, describing the exhilaration—almost euphoria—that overtakes groups united by a common purpose that engages in an intensely involved activity together. I first learned about this concept in a short film about dance. Coincidently, the organizational psychologist Adam Grant recently posted about it as well.
Before knowing there was a word for it, I called this experience togetherness. I’ve always sought out togetherness in my life—sometimes missing it, but often finding it in dancing with others, watching big sports events in cafés, or attending workshops on personal mastery and team building.
Last June, for example, I was part of a client’s full staff meeting—about 80 people—for a two-day reflection on the organization’s achievements and culture. By the end of day two, as the group reconvened to close the assembly, the atmosphere was electric. The group was cheering for the facilitators and organizers, but I believe they were also cheering for each other, after six months of hard work together. The delightful energy was palpable. Collective effervescence had emerged. It was real.
What I love about these rare moments is that the boundaries of our individualistic egos—the part of us that resists the present or constantly strives to be ‘somebody special’—dissolve in the jubilation of a group sharing something meaningful.
In sports, I want to believe—perhaps naively—that the spectators’ euphoria is driven less by attachment to a club, nation, personality, or outcome, and more by the awe of witnessing human beings surpassing their own limitations.
The collective effervescence I cherish is peaceful, playful, and sentimental. But this combination of qualities is not a given. It depends on the context, the nature of the event, and the messaging.
When the messaging incites fear, doubt, violence, or hatred, a jubilant crowd can quickly turn into a howling mob.
When the messaging incites solidarity, creativity, resilience, and peace, the jubilant crowd holds back the potential for a howling mob. Instead, it becomes sentimental and idealistic, much like the yearning expressed in the popular French song ‘Foule Sentimentale’- a song about how we, the people, have grown weary of societal consumerism, and long for real human connection and meaning.
My stepmother lives alone in Paris. At 87, with severe knee issues, she can’t walk much. Yet she wasn’t left out of the Olympic events. Paris, her city, had transformed into a massive stadium. In front of her TV, she felt like a V.I.P.! She was part of the collective effervescence, perhaps partly because of the loud and audacious message of inclusion sent during the opening ceremony that included a tribute to 12 brilliant women made invisible in history, a deep salute to the LGBTQIA+ community, and recognition of the refugee Olympic team.
Our society has never been as polarized and divided as it is today. The paradox is that more people than ever want a spirit of solidarity, and fair play for everyone—as represented in the very spirit of the Olympics.
Collective effervescence is inevitably fleeting, but it massages our souls and opens our hearts. It leaves a lasting mark, reminding us that the walls and hostilities we constantly build with our differences and particularities can melt away in the presence of other like-minded individuals who share similar emotional energy and a common focus. Under such optimal circumstances, we can form an effervescent crowd striving for high ideals.