Paris 2024 welcomes first athletes as Olympic Village opens – IOC President Bach pays a visit
Athletes from around the world have begun arriving at their “home away from home” for the Olympic Games Paris 2024, as the Olympic Village officially opened its doors in the French capital today. International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach welcomed some of the early arrivals.
Approximately 10,500 athletes from the territories of 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team will compete in the Games, with the majority staying in the main 54-hectare Olympic Village, located on the banks of the River Seine in the north of the host city. Additional athlete villages in Châteauroux, Lille, Marseille and Tahiti will also host those competing in shooting, basketball (preliminary round), handball, sailing and surfing.
President Bach was at the opening of the Olympic Village, along with Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet and IOC Coordination Commission Chair Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant. The IOC President welcomed some of the athletes as they were entering the Village and attended the NOC Chefs de Mission meeting.
“Finally, we are here,” he said, as he praised the facilities that will be available to athletes during the Games. “It has been a long journey these seven years, but it has been a hugely rewarding one thanks to our friends at the Organising Committee under the leadership of Tony Estanguet and his team, who have worked closely with our IOC Coordination Commission under the leadership of Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant. We have a wonderful Olympic Village, and all the ingredients for a great Olympic Games are here.”
Afterwards, he enjoyed a tour of the Village, had breakfast with some officials and athletes, met volunteers and visited the accommodation of the French Olympic team.
“Built by athletes, for athletes”
The Village, which spans across the Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen and Île-Saint-Denis communes of Paris, features a wide range of facilities and services that athletes will need during the Games, including a 3,200-seat dining hall serving food from around the world, a 24-hour fitness centre, a 3,500sqm polyclinic, a multi-faith centre and a mini-market.
To ensure that all the amenities were designed with the needs of athletes in mind, the Paris 2024 Athletes' Commission invited athletes from all five continents to put forward their ideas and requirements for the Village.
“It's a Village that was built by athletes, for athletes,” explained Laurent Michaud, Director of the Olympic and Paralympic Village for Paris 2024. “We've been able to provide all these services in an optimal way so that the athletes have only one thing to do, and that is to focus on their competitions.”
Throughout the Games, athletes will be able to relax, socialise and watch coverage of Olympic events in the Village Club, while Athlete365 House will offer athletes and their entourage members the chance to learn more about the various IOC support programmes available to them, increase their awareness of key topics such as anti-doping and competition manipulation, and vote in the IOC Athletes’ Commission election.
For the first time, a dedicated space to look after athletes’ mental health will also be available. The Athlete365 Mind Zone, delivered through Worldwide Olympic Partner Coca-Cola’s Powerade brand, will help athletes work on their mental fitness and focus on their breathing, and provide them with an opportunity to try a unique virtual reality (VR) mindfulness experience.
Worldwide Olympic Partner P&G, through its Pampers® brand, will also be supporting the first-ever Olympic Village nursery, which will provide a comfortable and convenient environment for athlete parents to spend time with their babies and young children during the Games. In addition to the Olympic Village nursery, P&G brands will support a range of services across the Olympic Village, including the beauty and grooming salon, laundry rooms and dental clinic.
A sustainable legacy
After the Games, the Village will become part of the surrounding region of Seine-Saint-Denis, with the site’s housing, shops, public facilities, workplaces and green spaces set to meet the long-term living needs of 6,000 residents and provide jobs for 6,000 people.
The new neighbourhood will feature 2,500 new homes, a hotel, student residences, approximately seven hectares of gardens and parks, 120,000sqm of offices and city services, and 3,200sqm of neighbourhood shops.
The Village has also been designed to adapt to the climatic conditions of 2050, with features such as plants and water in public areas aimed at accommodating and mitigating the effects of climate change in the future.
The Olympic Games Paris 2024 will begin on 26 July and finish on 11 August. The Paralympic Games will then run from 28 August until 8 September. Tickets for both Games can be purchased here.