The organisers of the Paris Olympics took possession of the newly built athletes’ village on Thursday on schedule, reinforcing growing confidence that they will be ready for the Games.
At an inauguration ceremony in northern Paris, chief organiser Tony Estanguet received a symbolic key for the complex in front of VIPs including President Emmanuel Macron.
The roughly 40 low-rise tower blocks will house around 14,000 people over the course of the Olympics, which kick off on July 26, and another 9,000 during the Paralympics afterwards.
The handover target of March 1 for the crucial piece of Olympics infrastructure was exceeded by a day, with all sides keen to stress that the construction work was finished on time and only marginally over budget.
“It’s a demonstration that we have honoured our commitments,” Macron told reporters after meeting workers who he said should be “proud” of taking part in what he called “the adventure of a century”.
The village was a major test of whether the Paris Games could avoid the pitfalls of past editions.
Wasteful over-spending, rushed construction work and extravagant “white elephant” infrastructure projects have consistently tarnished the reputation of the Olympics.
Concerns about climate change have also led activists to target the enormous carbon footprint of an event that brings together athletes and spectators from across the world every four years.
– Regeneration –
Paris organisers see themselves as promoting a new “sober” model, with a focus on using existing or temporary sporting infrastructure, as well as promoting recycling, re-use and innovative low-carbon technologies.
“We’ve made a village that’s a showcase, but also a manifesto of what we know how to do best in France today in response to the major questions posed for urbanisation in the 21st century,” Olympics infrastructure chief Nicolas Ferrand told Macron.
By using low-carbon concrete, wood structures, and renewable geothermal heating, organisers claim the village will create around half the amount of carbon emissions over its lifetime compared with an equivalent built with standard construction techniques.
The village is the single biggest new-build Olympics project, located on a site by the river Seine that is a focus for regeneration efforts in the economically deprived Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis.
The suburb, which also hosts the national stadium, is the poorest and most crime-ridden of mainland France.
“We made a promise: that we would create above all a new neighbourhood for Seine-Saint-Denis rather than an Olympic and Paralympic village,” Laurent Michaud, director of village operations for the organising committee, told reporters earlier this week.
Roughly two thirds of the 2.0-billion-euro ($2.2 billion) budget has been provided by private real estate companies, with the state contributing 646 million euros.
During the Games, it will include a 24-hour restaurant, an alcohol-free bar, as well as training facilities.
Afterwards, around a third of the 2,800 apartments will be sold off to private homeowners, while a third is destined for public housing, and the rest for rentals, including for students.
Model village?
Opinion polls suggest a majority of French people support the Paris Games, though expensive tickets, political bickering and disruption to life in the capital have soured the mood recently.
“Wherever the Games have been held, you have inconveniences that come at the end,” Macron said when asked about the mood of the country.
Other environmental innovations in the village include a mini water-processing plant to recycle water that will be used on the more than 9,000 trees and shrubs that are set to be planted on the site.
“The village is already ready for the climate of 2050,” Ferrand added.
Some pavements have been made from oyster and other seashells to absorb heat, while the beds to be used by athletes are made out of reinforced cardboard and recycled fishing nets.
Organisers are set to spend the next four months fitting out the village with more than 300,000 items of furniture and decoration.
The tower blocks each have a different design, which is intended to underline the “architectural variety” that is seen as a marker of European cities.
