With what promises to be a jam-packed programme of sporting action over the next couple of weeks, it’s easy to forget that when we’re all glued to our seats (if we were lucky enough to get tickets) or our screens (if we’re streaming online), that the athletes are all anxiously awaiting for their time to shine in the schedule.
But where do they spend all this tantalising time? Well, we’ve all heard of the Olympic Village, but given it’s exclusively for competitors and their coaches, the purpose-built complex at each host city does retain an air of mystery. Here’s everything we know about the site for Paris 2024.
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What exactly is an Olympic Village?
All those 14,250 athletes, their coaches and Games officials have gotta sleep somewhere, so it’s typical for the host city to build an enormous residential complex to accommodate all of them.
Where is the Paris 2024 Olympic Village?
The ‘village’ itself is technically built across three communes in the north of Paris: Saint-Ouen, Saint-Denis, and L’Ile-Saint-Denis. The site was formerly made up of land for industrial parks and businesses, and it’s pretty enormous at around 330,000 square metres.
What’s the accommodation like?
We’ve all heard of the breakfast of champions, but the beds? Well, they might be a little more humble than you’re anticipating. As athletes have been arriving in Paris for the start of the Games, many have been sharing TikToks of their accommodation – including beds made out of cardboard.
@tomdaley CARBOARD BEDS IN THE OLYMPIC VILLAGE! #paris2024 #olympics ♬ original sound - Tom Daley
Sturdier than they look, eh?
Do athletes have to stay there?
The Village exists to house only athletes, who typically have to arrive five days before the Games start and leave two days after the end of their sport or if they’re eliminated. It’s not clear whether athletes have to stay there, but for reasons of security, privacy, and the fact that it’s free, why wouldn’t they?
What happens to the Paris Olympic Village after the summer games are over?
Putting all that time and money into building an Olympic Village would be pretty wasteful if they were only used for the Games, but thankfully cities tend to continue to use them after the closing ceremony.
According to the Olympics website, Paris’s Village will later be home to 6,000 residents and employ around 6,000 people, incorporating apartments with shops, workplaces, public facilities and green spaces. More specifically, there’ll be 2,500 new homes, one block for student accommodation, a hotel, a three-hectare park and other smaller gardens, 12,000 square metres of office space and city services, and 3,200 square metres of shops.
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