WHILE THE PARIS Olympics will mercifully not follow the Tokyo Games in taking place behind closed doors, they will be missing a different type of fan.
As part of the Games’ sustainability drive and in line with the Paris Climate Agreements, the newly-built rooms in the Athletes’ Village at the Paris Games will not be air conditioned. As a result, Irish athletes have been advised by the Olympic Federation of Ireland to prepare for the heat they’ll encounter by turning on the heating at their respective training bases.
The Olympic Village will be based in Saint-Denis, seven kilometres north of central Paris, and will accommodate nearly 14,000 athletes and staff members. It will be converted to housing after the conclusion of the Paralympic Games. Designers of the Village buildings say the temperature inside will be six degrees lower than the outside air temperature.
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The Olympics will kick off on 26 July next year and run to 11 August, with daytime temperatures at that time of year usually peaking between the low-to-mid-thirties, though exceeded 40 degrees during a heatwave in July last year.
Paris 2024 organisers say theirs is the first Olympics to pay “such scrupulous attention to climate and environmental considerations long before the event actually takes place”, and the athletes village is one of only two new structures to be built for the Games, the other being a new Aquatics Centre, built to facilitate the diving competitions. Thus 95% of the facilities used will be existing structures.
Also under the Games sustainability plan, federations will be fined if they are caught using single-use plastic.
The Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI), meanwhile, are drawing on the experience of the Covid-bubbled Tokyo Games to restrict athletes’ time in the Olympic village after their competition has finished. Athletes had to leave the village within 48 hours of the end of their competitive involvement in the Tokyo Games, which the OFI found helped the focus of the Team Ireland members yet to compete.
Thus the OFI have struck a partnership with the Centre Culturel Irlandais (Irish Cultural Centre) to provide accommodation and a base from which to enjoy the Games after they have left the Village.
The OFI have also signed a deal with the Paris-based O’Sullivan Group as their Hospitality Partner. One of the group’s venues, O’Sullivans By The Mill’, is beside the Moulin Rouge and will act as Team Ireland Supporter’s House, screening the events from an Irish perspective and providing live music and entertainment. A second venue, Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), is near the Champs Élysées, has been designated as the Team Ireland Family House, and will provide a morning and afternoon meeting point with the opportunity to provide support and assistance to athletes’ families.
From left to right: Sarah Keane, OFI President; Thomas St. John , Founder & CEO of O’Sullivan’s Group; Peter Sherrard, OFI CEO; Catherine Tiernan, OFI Commercial Director Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE
Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE / SPORTSFILE
“I am delighted to see the progress made on this important area to ensure that athletes, their families, and wider supporter groups can enjoy what we all hope will be a very special Games for Team Ireland”, said OFI President Sarah Keane. “I want to thank our partners in Paris for their work, along with our own team and sponsors in helping to develop this special experience package.”
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Irish athletes to turn up their heating to prepare for Paris Olympics without air conditioning
LAST UPDATE | 8 Mar 2023
WHILE THE PARIS Olympics will mercifully not follow the Tokyo Games in taking place behind closed doors, they will be missing a different type of fan.
As part of the Games’ sustainability drive and in line with the Paris Climate Agreements, the newly-built rooms in the Athletes’ Village at the Paris Games will not be air conditioned. As a result, Irish athletes have been advised by the Olympic Federation of Ireland to prepare for the heat they’ll encounter by turning on the heating at their respective training bases.
The Olympic Village will be based in Saint-Denis, seven kilometres north of central Paris, and will accommodate nearly 14,000 athletes and staff members. It will be converted to housing after the conclusion of the Paralympic Games. Designers of the Village buildings say the temperature inside will be six degrees lower than the outside air temperature.
The Olympics will kick off on 26 July next year and run to 11 August, with daytime temperatures at that time of year usually peaking between the low-to-mid-thirties, though exceeded 40 degrees during a heatwave in July last year.
Paris 2024 organisers say theirs is the first Olympics to pay “such scrupulous attention to climate and environmental considerations long before the event actually takes place”, and the athletes village is one of only two new structures to be built for the Games, the other being a new Aquatics Centre, built to facilitate the diving competitions. Thus 95% of the facilities used will be existing structures.
Also under the Games sustainability plan, federations will be fined if they are caught using single-use plastic.
The Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI), meanwhile, are drawing on the experience of the Covid-bubbled Tokyo Games to restrict athletes’ time in the Olympic village after their competition has finished. Athletes had to leave the village within 48 hours of the end of their competitive involvement in the Tokyo Games, which the OFI found helped the focus of the Team Ireland members yet to compete.
Thus the OFI have struck a partnership with the Centre Culturel Irlandais (Irish Cultural Centre) to provide accommodation and a base from which to enjoy the Games after they have left the Village.
The OFI have also signed a deal with the Paris-based O’Sullivan Group as their Hospitality Partner. One of the group’s venues, O’Sullivans By The Mill’, is beside the Moulin Rouge and will act as Team Ireland Supporter’s House, screening the events from an Irish perspective and providing live music and entertainment. A second venue, Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), is near the Champs Élysées, has been designated as the Team Ireland Family House, and will provide a morning and afternoon meeting point with the opportunity to provide support and assistance to athletes’ families.
“I am delighted to see the progress made on this important area to ensure that athletes, their families, and wider supporter groups can enjoy what we all hope will be a very special Games for Team Ireland”, said OFI President Sarah Keane. “I want to thank our partners in Paris for their work, along with our own team and sponsors in helping to develop this special experience package.”
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2024 Olympics poor fan turnout