Axel May / Photo credits: THOMAS SAMSON / AFP 10:18 a.m., February 29, 2024

The athletes' village for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be inaugurated this Thursday, in Seine-Saint-Denis, in the presence of the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron.

Europe 1, which discovered the site in preview, reveals its outlines to you.

Tuesday, on the day of the preview visit, workers were installing the last elements of street furniture in preparation for the inauguration by the Head of State this Thursday.

Next summer, more than 10,000 athletes will be housed - several per apartment - in around forty buildings, distributed around two main avenues.

“We completed the Olympic and Paralympic Village in six years. That’s four times less time than it normally takes for a neighborhood of this size,” explains Henri Specht, who supervised the construction for the on behalf of Solideo, the company responsible for delivering the works for the Games. 

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An Olympic village as big as 70 football fields

Installed on more than 50 hectares, the equivalent of 70 football fields, the village straddles three municipalities, L'Ile-Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis and Saint-Ouen.

Crossed by the Seine, whose banks have been redeveloped at this location, the village was built around the Cité du cinéma which was formerly occupied by Luc Besson's company.

This hall will serve as a gigantic restaurant open 24 hours a day during the Olympic Games.

When it is operational, the village will offer numerous services: a clinic, training centers, a fitness room, a hairdresser, an entertainment area with bar - without alcohol - and arcade games, a mini-market , a tourist information area, a post office...

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Golf carts available to get around the site

Inside the site, golf carts and bicycles will allow you to get around more quickly.

A festive square has been set up on the banks of the Seine so that athletes can meet their guests and family.

The accommodation will be closed to the outside world.

This place will be equipped with a giant screen to follow the events.

In front of the entrance to the village, a large bus station will allow you to take a vehicle to reach the competition sites.

Thursday at midnight, Laurent Michaud, village director on behalf of the Games Organizing Committee, collected the keys to the site.

Once the Olympic and then Paralympic events are over, the village will be transformed into a residential and office district.