On Thursday, July 18, the first athletes moved into the Olympic Village, eight days before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. In total, there will be 10,000 of them, including more than 4,000 support staff, living in this brand new district, built across three communes in the north of the capital: Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine and Île Saint-Denis.
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His footsteps echo on the gravel as Augustin Tran Van Chau, deputy director of the Olympic and Paralympic Village, arrives at a small tree-lined square: “This is the beginning of the so-called international zone”he says. An area where all the athletes and their staff will be welcomed. “You can find all the services that we have in a village square: a mini-market, the souvenir shop Paris 2024Samsung, partner of the International Olympic Committee, and finally a bank ATM ” he enthuses.
The visit continues through the Maxwell Hall, a former power station that has become a strategic location for athletes. Welcome to this resident center, have you lost your key? Do you need to be able to change your towel? Do you not know where the polyclinic is? You can also ask us », explains a person in charge of the visit.
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The hall also houses a hair salon and a huge fitness room. In total we put 1 800 equipments : treadmills, bikes, ellipticals, rowers… Each federation has reported its needs “, explains a supervisor.
Outside, the cinema city has been transformed into a restaurant. On either side, ultramodern buildings stand, where the athletes will be housed. And there is no question of tiring yourself out walking around the 55 hectares of the site: an electric shuttle goes around it every two minutes. These are doorless cars, so there is the flexibility to easily convert each of the cars, if there are two people, three people, five people… “, describes another accompanying person. The teams will also be able to welcome their young children in a nursery, a first for Olympic Games.
Staggered arrivals
On Thursday, July 18, the first delegations crossed the threshold of the village, notably those from the Thailandof the’Australia and some Colombia. ” We’re super excited to see what it looks like. It looks great, we can’t wait to be inside, and can’t wait for it to start. “We’re delighted,” said Stephanie Kershaw, a player on the Australian field hockey team, upon her arrival.
This waltz of delegations will continue until the opening ceremony. We are counting between 1,500 and 2,000 athlete arrivals per day until July 26, then we will be full. Full house at 14,250 people. It is a village that was made by athletes for athletes so that the athletes have only one thing to do, it is to concentrate on their competition. And so, our job is to make sure that it is completely fluid from arrival to departure. For the supervision, we will be between 3,000 and 4,000 staff. We are all employees of Paris 2024, with mainly our partners and then volunteers. “, explains Laurent Michaud, the village director.
On the French side, only the women’s water polo team will open the show on Thursday. Advantage to the host country, the France was able to choose his building, not far from the restaurant located in the Cité du Cinéma and close to the village polyclinic.
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