IRELAND IS GOING to pay for its athletes to have air-conditioning in their accommodation during the 2024 Olympics.
Host city Paris city has said it will not provide air-conditioning in its Olympic Village as it aims to meet “exemplary environmental standards” during the Games.
Paris has prioritised environmental concerns for the Olympics, guaranteeing a carbon-neutral event and pledging to create a circular economy throughout the Games.
However, there are concerns that summer heat in the French capital will create undesirable conditions for athletes during the most important weeks of their sporting careers.
Temperatures in Paris in July average between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius, but can surpass 40 degrees during a heatwave.
A recent study warned of the possibility of a weeks-long heatwave hitting the capital during the games.
The Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) has decided to provide air-conditioning for the Irish contingent at the cost of around €60,000 in total.
The option is available through a rate card, a list of extra amenities that delegations can avail of for their athletes for a price.
A spokesperson for the Paris Olympics said that the accommodation for athletes will have features such as geothermally cooled water circulation in the floors “that should provide quality comfort for athletes, without having to use ‘traditional’ AC”.
The rate card, they said, offers cooling solutions that have the “lowest possible carbon impact”.
The OFI says the decision to pay for air-conditioning was “performance-related”.
It’s anticipated that the OFI’s total expenditure for Paris 2024 – which includes sending the Olympians to France – is approximately €4.7 million, making it one of the federation’s highest budgets in recent years, despite proximity to the host country.
For the 2020 games in Tokyo (held in 2021 due to the pandemic), expenditure came to around €3.3 million.
The Olympic Village, where athletes and their teams will stay during the games, is currently being built in the Parisian suburbs of Saint-Denis, Ile Saint-Denis and Saint-Ouen, about 7km from the city centre.
The villages are situated right beside Stade de France, where most of the games will take place.
The 51-hectare site along the Seine will house 14,500 athletes, plus staff.
The OFI said that it’s expected that the newly-built accommodation will be naturally cooler than older buildings anyway, given the commitment to energy efficiency.
For Irish people wanting to cheer on their country, there are still tickets available, but they’ll set you back between €90 for preliminary events and €2,700 for the opening ceremony.
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