For the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, 45,000 volunteers are mobilized to contribute to the success of the biggest sporting event in the world. They come from all over the world and are delighted to live in the heart of the games in the French capital.
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At the competition sites, in the press rooms, in the metro, in the stations or in the Olympic village, their turquoise outfits stamped “Paris 2024” are visible everywhere. Their mission: to guide and inform spectators, sometimes to facilitate the work of journalists or even to welcome officials. I’m here to monitor the press box.says a young Taiwanese based in 3×3 basketball. The atmosphere is friendly and the meetings are enriching. “.
20% foreigners, from more than 150 countries
These 45,000 volunteers, 20% of whom are foreigners, from more than 150 countries, are an integral part of the Olympic Games. Unpaid, unhoused, but fed, they are on deck six days a week. The volunteer received a 15-piece kit, from hats to shoes.
At the Arena Champs-de-Mars, Korean Min-Ha (pronounced Mina, she specifies) was in charge of the microphone during the press conferences of the judokas. This is the second time she has come to France after discovering the country two years ago while traveling. For these Games, I saved up to pay for my travel and accommodation. The organizing committee provided me with the transport card in Paris “, rthe 22-year-old student happily teaches.
According to the organizers of the Paris Olympics, about 300,000 people applied. In 1984, the Los Angeles Olympics were the first to call for mass volunteering with just over 28,000 elected officials. Without them, there would be no Games.
During the two days dedicated to mountain biking on the hill of Élancourt, a young man from Switzerland was positioned to lead the public across not far from the finish line. I love this sport, I know almost all the participants, it’s a crazy chance to be here ” , testified the one who took advantage of a friend’s apartment to reduce his expenses. But be careful, if he was able to admire the Briton Tom Pidcock or even the French woman Pauline Ferrand-Prévothe was forbidden to take a selfie or ask for an autograph. On the bus that shuttled between the hill of Elancourt and Paris, four young volunteers congratulated themselves on having helped with the medal ceremony. We have the chance to see the athletes up close and enjoy the Olympics from another way ” said one of them.
“ I’m amazed »
Crossed in front of a hotel near Place Vendôme, a young volunteer patiently waits for guests from Paris 2024. He is one of the 2024 volunteers, employees of the pharmaceutical laboratory Sanofi, official partner of the Olympic Games. Ten thousand Sanofi employees applied, and I was lucky enough to be chosen to drive a vehicle. I was also mobilized for the triathlon and the bike races “, says Damien.
The 2,024 volunteers who work the rest of the year at Sanofi come from 68 countries and parity between men and women has been respected. And the cherry on the cake is that they are housed and only had to take one week of vacation out of the two they spent in Paris. I am amazed. I discovered Versailles and the Roland-Garros site “, says with a smile this resident of Lyon who did not really appreciate Paris before. Too many people, too much stress, but this is great! »
Proof that the Paris 2024 volunteers are in the know, on online resale platforms like Vinted and LeBonCoin, their outfits are now being snapped up at a premium: 100 euros for a fanny pack, 150 euros for a jersey, 250 euros for a hat!
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