Why athletes are turning the 2024 Olympic village into a City of Flight (2024)

Is it the food? Is it the cardboard beds? Is it the fact the 2024 Olympics are being hosted in one of the world’s great cities, offering much more to see outside the fence than inside?

Whatever the reason, there have been several reports of athletes leaving their designated living space well ahead of schedule this month in Paris. (Notably: One Brazilian swimmer was removed from the country by her team after sneaking out of the village to enjoy a night in Paris.)

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Consider Coco Gauff, the star U.S. tennis player.

“I’m the only one really [left at the village],” Gauff said, via ESPN. “Like, at first I was going to move, and then when I kept meeting all these amazing athletes staying in the village, and then Rafa [Nadal] is staying in the village. So I was like, if he can do it, I can do it. But I understand why my teammates left.”

Why would they leave?

The food has been mentioned more than once.

“I don’t think it’s very good, at least what we’re having in the dining hall,” U.S. gymnast Hezly Rivera told reporters. “I definitely think French food is good, but what we’re having in there, I don’t think it’s the best. But it gets the job done.”

(And that is setting aside the fact that, heading into the Opening Ceremony, organizers were reportedly rationing eggs in the village due to a shortage.)

The use of cardboard beds has become a topic of discussion. First introduced at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, organizers in Paris leaned into them as a way of touting steps taken toward being a green Games, based on their environment benefits.

According to a video from the official Olympics YouTube account, “These sustainable beds are 100 per cent made in France and will be fully recycled in France after the Games.”

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The Canadian women’s rugby sevens team posted a (wonderfully fun) video demonstrating different ways of jumping on the bed, highlighting the durability and sturdiness of the cardboard bed frames.

As for the mattresses, Australian field hockey player Nathan Ephraums posted a TikTok with the caption describing the mattress as a “Scrub Daddy” bed, referring to the sponge-like make of the cushions. Matilda Kearns, Australian water polo athlete, said the beds were “rock solid” while even sleeping on the “softer” option.

Simone Biles also commented on Dana Joelle’s TikTok saying, “the bed sucks…… BUT we are getting mattress toppers so hopefully it’ll get better,” with a crossed-fingers emoji.

Swiss rower Celia Dupre said that athletes from most nations have opted for hotels instead of the Olympic Village due to the complex being too far from event venues in a TikTok. The organizers had said that the village would be within 25 minutes of competition venues, however, due to timing and traffic, it would be a “logistical nightmare.”

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Dupre says she is “not necessarily mad” that they are staying outside of the village to focus on their sport.

“We stayed one night in the village, and I didn’t sleep,” she said. “The Olympic duvet was really itchy, and it was really hot.”

On July 27, Gauff posted a TikTok video with the caption “10 girls, two bathrooms,” drawing attention to the limited space and bathroom facilities shared among ten athletes.

Zahria Allers-Liburd, representing St. Kitts and Nevis in track and field shared a that he had lost five pounds in a few days since eating the Olympic Village food: “I need a Chipotle bowl ASAP.”

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