An inside look at the Olympic Village for the Paris Olympics
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Athletes pose inside giant Olympic Rings located within the Olympic Village. Photo: Ina Fried/Axios
A nursery, a mindfulness area and on-site training facilities are among the firsts that separate the Olympic Village in Paris from the ones that housed athletes at prior games.
Between the lines: Sustainability was also a huge focus at this year's Olympics with a focus on refillable cups and the return of the much-talked about cardboard bed frames that debuted in Tokyo.
- Organizers' emphasis on sustainability led them to forego air conditioning in favor of a more-environmentally friendly water-cooling system. But with the city sweltering at times, many countries opted to bring in their own AC units, cutting into the effort to limit the carbon footprint.
The big picture: I was able to tour the Village last week to see those advances firsthand, along with the shops, lounges and dining halls that serve as home to more than 10,000 athletes in Paris.
- For several hours on Thursday, I was free to wander around the Village, exploring the facilities and getting a glimpse of what daily life is like for the athletes.
- As I headed toward the massive central dining hall I walked past one of the Village's most well-known residents — U.S. gymnastics legend Simone Biles, walking side-by-side with teammate Jordan Chiles.
Zoom in: A lounge offers a variety of opportunities for athletes to get a break from the intensity of the Games.
- I watched a pair of Israeli judo athletes battle one another at air hockey, while a gangly group of German volleyball players took turns taking shots at an arcade basketball hoop, which they towered over.
- There is a bar outside the lounge — but it only servers Corona Cero, a non-alcoholic beverage from Olympic sponsor AB InBev. Teams can choose to bring in their own alcohol for celebrations, but its use isn't something Paris 2024 organizers are promoting.
For those that want an even larger break from the action, this year's village has a mindfulness center, complete with VR headsets offering meditations and the option to sit down at an easel and contribute to a jointly created paint-by-numbers canvas.
- It sits right above a fitness center, where athletes were lifting weights and exercising on various machines. And, in another Paris first, the venue also has sport-specific training facilities allowing some athletes to get in practice without having to leave the Village.
The nursery, meanwhile, is designed to allow Olympic parents to have a space to connect and care for infants and toddlers. Created in conjunction with Procter & Gamble — another Olympic sponsor, the nursery (which was not open to tour) includes supplies like diapers and wipes, along with areas for play.
Zoom out: The complex includes a massive set of apartment buildings that will be repurposed after the games. Many delegations have signs and banners decorating their sections. Australia, for example, has huge kangaroo and emu sculptures outside its building, echoing its national coat of arms and Olympic logo.
- Organizers don't themselves label or announce who is staying where, allowing delegations whose presence might be more controversial to decide how public — or not — to be about where they are staying.
My thought bubble: One thing not visible within the Village — as seems to be the case with the rest of the Paris Games — is any sign of precautions related to Covid-19. Organizers told me that they are prepared to follow any direction from French health officials should there be an outbreak.
- It's such a jarring contrast to the Tokyo Games, where virtually every aspect of the Olympics was dictated by the coronavirus, from the one-year delay, to the lack of spectators, to athletes having to put their own medals on.
1 fun thing: All along the river that surrounds the Village there are signs that proclaim "Baignade Interdite — No swimming." One athlete said out loud what I was thinking. "Why on earth would I want to?"
