Hosting the Olympics is a monumental task, requiring the host country to welcome thousands of athletes from around the world and create a home away from home. No two Olympic Villages are the same.
Athletes have already taken to social media to share their experiences and review the Paris Olympic Village. Notable features include the cardboard beds and the renowned French cuisine.
Managing the influx of athletes involves significant logistical efforts, but it also presents an opportunity to revitalize an area, benefiting the community long after the Games conclude.
Athletes from previous Olympic and Paralympic Games were consulted to help create an ideal environment for the competitors in Paris, according to the Olympic Games.
The Olympic Games organization is striving for environmental excellence by promoting biodiversity, maintaining a carbon-emissions budget within Paris’s Climate Plan and implementing features to mitigate the effects of climate change, such as the infamous cardboard beds.
Cardboard beds in the Olympic Village
The Olympic Village spans three cities: Saint-Denis, Saint Ouen and L’Île-Saint-Denis. It can accommodate 14,250 athletes during the Olympic Games and 8,000 during the Paralympic Games, per the Olympic Games.
“I think people would be surprised at how minimal and minimalist the Olympics rooms are,” gold medalist figure skater Brian Boitano told NBC News.
The primary concern for athletes arriving at this year’s Olympics was about whether the cardboard beds would be structurally sound and comfortable. Getting a good night’s sleep before their events is integral to their performance.
Reviews of the beds have been mixed.
In a viral video on TikTok, British diver and men’s synchronized 10-meter platform gold medalist Tom Daley showed himself jumping on the bed, saying, “As you can see, they’re pretty sturdy.”
Australian water polo player Tilly Kearns did not find the beds comfortable, describing them as “rock solid.”
She showed her roommate getting up from one bed, saying, “My back is about to fall off.”
“Already had a massage to undo the damage,” the caption of the video says.
She added in a follow-up video that her team manager got them mattress toppers and extra pillows to make them more comfortable.
“I’m so grateful because I was waking up every second hour,” she said. “You’ll be expecting some gold medal performances from here on out.”
French cuisine at the Olympic Village
Another critical aspect of the Olympic Village is the food. With around 15,000 athletes from 208 territories and nations, a wide variety of palates and dietary needs must be accommodated.
The Olympic Games estimates that over 13 million free meals will be served, with up to 60,000 meals provided daily.
Paris, renowned for its food, promises to offer athletes an excellent dining experience, with pastries taking center stage.
“Every French village has a bakery,” Guillaume Thomas, a communications officer for the Olympics, told The New York Times. “We want people to be able to smell the baguette as they enter.”
Three famous chefs, Akrame Benallal, Amandine Chaignot and Alexandre Mazzia, will be part of the cooking staff, per The New York Times.
The athletes are expected to eat well — maybe a little too well if they’re not careful. Per People, some teams have brought along nutritionists to ensure their athletes do not ruin their diets until after they compete.
Aleah Finnegan, a Filipino-American gymnast, shared her initial experience on TikTok, showing off the huge dining hall packed with people and a wide selection of options.
“It’s pretty good, like it’s good food, it’s just … you could probably season it a little bit,” she said. “Just personal preference. That’s me.”
Lee Kiefer and Gerek Meinhardt, USA fencers who married in 2019, shared their breakfast experience at the dining hall on their joint TikTok account.
There were four dining options: French, Asian, world and halal. They showcased the variety of food available, including fresh produce and fruit, hash browns and eggs, yogurt and other dairy products, as well as baked goods like croissants.