Paris 2024: Monegasque athletes feel at home in Olympic village
“The cardboard beds are comfortable,” says judoka Marvin Gadeau © Photo Monegasque Olympic Committee
At the heart of the Paris 2024 Games, Monegasque athletes are experiencing a unique adventure in the Olympic Village, a veritable ephemeral town covering 54 hectares, in the Northern Paris suburbs.
Located in the municipalities of Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen and Île Saint-Denis, the village is home to 14,500 people, including the Monegasque delegation, which shares a building with those from Andorra, Angola and Senegal. “The cohabitation is going very well,” says Mathias Raymond, head of mission.
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The Monegasques have four flats, one of which is reserved for administration and medical care, while the others are split by gender and by groups of athletes and coaches. The rooms are furnished with cardboard beds, an innovation that was pioneered in Tokyo. “We sleep well, it’s comfortable,” say the athletes.
The main restaurant, which can seat 3,200 people, serves 40,000 meals a day with a variety of cuisines, including French, Asian and African dishes. “We eat very well, no complaints,” say the Monegasques.
The Village also provides a 24-hour fitness centre, 12 laundry facilities and a polyclinic of 3,500m2 offering a range of medical services (pharmacy, blood test room, emergency room, physiotherapy, podiatry, dermatology, gynaecology, cardiology, ophthalmology, dental and 18 cold water recovery baths).
An Environmentally responsible Olympic Village
Designed to be sustainable, the Village includes 6 hectares of green space, greening of streets, balconies and roofs, as well as wastewater recovery and treatment systems for irrigation.
With 9,000 trees and shrubs planted, cooling floors and triple glazing, the Village is ready for the forecast climate conditions of 2050. The project, which embraces heritage and sustainability, is dear to the heart of Prince Albert II, Chairman of the International Olympic Committee’s Sustainability and Legacy Commission. It should benefit the future 6,000 inhabitants (2,000 families and 800 students) who will move in a year from now.