Paris Olympic village opens to welcome athletes

PARIS - The Paris Olympic Village officially opened its doors on Thursday, welcoming athletes from around the world who are ready to embark on their Olympic journey.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach visited the village on the opening day.

Around 10,500 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees and the Refugee Olympic Team will compete at the upcoming Olympic Games, which will start on July 26. Most athletes will be housed in the Paris Olympic Village, a 54-hectare site located by the Seine River.

Additionally, athletes will stay in satellite villages in Chateauroux (shooting), Lille (basketball preliminaries and handball), Marseille (sailing), and Tahiti (surfing).

Accompanied by Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Organizing Committee, and Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant, chair of the Paris 2024 Coordination Commission, Bach welcomed athletes as they moved into the village.

"Finally, we are here," he praised the facilities 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 Organizing 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."

The Olympic Village will serve as home for athletes during the Games, featuring a 3,200-seat dining hall, a 24-hour gym, a 3,500-square-meter polyclinic, and a small supermarket.

To ensure the facilities meet athletes' needs, the Paris 2024 Athletes' Commission invited representatives from five continents to provide feedback during the planning and construction phases, aiming to create an environment where athletes can focus on their competitions.

Athletes can relax and communicate with each other at the Village Club while watching Olympic broadcasts. The "Athlete 365 Space" offers information on IOC support programs, enhancing awareness on issues such as anti-doping and match-fixing. Elections for the Athlete Commission members will also be held here.

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 neighborhood will feature 2,500 new homes, a hotel, student residences, approximately seven hectares of gardens and parks, 120,000 square meters of offices and city services, and 3,200 square meters of neighborhood shops.

The Village has also been designed to adapt to climatic conditions, with plants and water in public areas aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change in the future.

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games will take place from July 26 to August 11. The Paralympic Games will then run from August 28 until September 8.