Some signs are unmistakable. Emmanuel Macron, the President of the Republic, will open the door to the athletes' village for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games this Thursday morning, February 29. Just a few hours before the official handover of the keys to the COJO by SOLIDEO, the public establishment in charge of the construction of permanent sites. This shows whether the event is important.
The Head of State will be accompanied by an imposing procession of ministers, elected officials, officials from the sports movement and French athletes. His second presidential visit after a first stroll in October 2021. At the time, the village was still under construction. With a helmet on his head, Emmanuel Macron had especially discovered models.
The OCOG Paris 2024 and SOLIDEO agreed their speech: the athletes' village was the largest single-site project in Europe, with its surface area of 330.000 m2, spread over the municipalities of Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen and l'Ile -St Denis. Its construction was completed in six years, a time frame two to three times shorter than normal for a work of this magnitude. Total cost: 2 billion euros, including 646 million in public money.
Resolutely turned towards the Seine, close to two metro lines (13 and 14) and the future Saint-Denis Pleyel station, it aims to be faultless and faultless in terms of sustainability, thanks to the presence of islands freshness, massive use of wood, the absence of air conditioning, all for a carbon footprint reduced by 47%.
Without any bad surprise, it is 100% accessible, a performance obtained by the installation of trains in public spaces and inclusive signage.
As for his legacy, it is already set in stone. After a long phase known as “ reconversion », the athletes' village will become a new residential, commercial and business district. From autumn 2025, it will accommodate a population of 6000 inhabitants and approximately as many employees.
Nothing to say. The copy is perfect. But telling the story of an Olympic village also means unrolling a long string of figures. Paris 2024 distributed them to the media without holding back. During the Olympic Games, no less than 14.250 beds will be installed for the 206 expected delegations. Their number will be reduced – 9.000 beds – for the Paralympic Games and their 182 countries.
The 82 residential buildings, spread over five sectors each named after a place in Paris (Abbesses, Fêtes, Etoile, Bastille and Dauphine), have a total of 7.200 rooms – 1 to 4 people – and 3.000 apartments – 2 to 8 residents. The COJO had 45.000 keys made.
Laurent Michaud, the village director at the COJO, explained it to FrancsJeux : the distribution of buildings between the countries was made according to the principle of decreasing size of delegations. France chose first, followed by the United States, China, Brazil... Between them, the 15 largest delegations concentrate 75% of the village's capacity. The most modest will discover the allocation of their rooms when they arrive on site.
For catering, a main space installed in the Cité du Cinéma will have 3200 seats. A secondary restaurant, with smaller dimensions, is planned on Ile-Saint-Denis. They will serve 40.000 meals per day.
In the area known as “ international“, the only one accessible to day visitors, the main square will offer a beauty salon, a café, a cash machine, a post office, a relaxation area and a tourist information center. Classic. Less usual, three entertainment zones, one of which is intended for “ disconnect“. A sports bar is also planned, sponsored by Coca-Cola, but it will not serve a single drop of alcohol.
A big first: the athletes' village will house seven training sites, notably dedicated to fencing, weightlifting, basketball, and goalball during the Paralympic Games.
The calendar, finally. The COJO must inherit the keys on Thursday March 29 at midnight. A pre-opening, reserved for heads of mission, is planned for July 12, before opening to the first delegations on July 18. The village will close its doors from August 14 to 17, the time of the transition between the Olympic and Paralympic Games. New pre-opening on August 18, three days before its second official opening.
