This is the last project under development 43 days before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games: the transformation of the Arena La Défense – usually dedicated to concerts and rugby matches – into a swimming pool provisional. The timetable is tight to be able to collect equipment ready for the events.
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Thirty-six days is the imperative deadline to meet to give the Arena de La Défense a new look. That of a temporary aquatic center to accommodate swimming, the final phase of water polo and para-swimming. Made available to organizers since May 15, just three days after the singer Taylor Swift’s concert, the western site of Paris houses a new construction site until the end of the month. The installation of two 50-meter above-ground basins, made up of more than 350 white stainless steel panels for their structure, transported from Italy by around twenty trucks.
A real challenge that only this Arena inaugurated in 2017 was able to meet for this type of project, which mobilizes no less than 150 people. “ The first of these being weightexplains Etienne Thobois, the general director of Paris 2024. We are at 15 tonnes across all installations, and the structure of this room allows it to be carried. The air circulation system is quite remarkable “.
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Filling of the pool to the nearest centimeter
The assembly of the structure and the assembly of the press stands must be completed on June 20, the start date of the second phase, that of the complete filling of the pools. 10,000 cubic meters of water in total, taken from the city of Nanterre network.
An operation governed by regulatory obligations of the international swimming federation: a depth of 3 m for the competition pool, 2 m for the warm-up pool, “ with a tolerance of 3 cm », explains Roberto Corletto, CEO of Myrtha Pools, official supplier of Olympic swimming pools since the 2008 Games, and attentive to the needs of athletes.
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“ Swimmers are very sensitive to water movements. As soon as we have completed the installation, we will carry out tests with buoys to ensure ideal conditions », he continues. Champions and early spectators will appreciate the result from July 27.