Athlete Village with Only One Fan and No Air Conditioning
Rising Criticism of Eco-Friendly 'Paris Olympics'
With the 2024 Paris Olympics opening next month, concerns are rising over the health of participating athletes as information has emerged that there is no air conditioning in the athletes' village.
Recently, several photos titled "Current Status of the Paris Olympics Athletes' Village" have been posted on various online communities and social networking services (SNS). The photos show that inside the rooms where athletes will live, there is only a single fan without any air conditioning. The cardboard beds, first introduced at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, are also visible.
The reason for not installing air conditioning in the accommodations is that the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee aims to implement an eco-friendly Olympics. However, since the Paris Olympics will be held from July 26 to August 11 during the peak of summer, concerns about the health of the athletes are mounting. Especially considering that during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, some athletes suffered from heatstroke and other health issues, there are increasing criticisms that more consideration should be given to athletes' health.
Netizens who saw the photos responded with comments such as, "My studio apartment is better than the athletes' village," "Cardboard beds are appearing again this time," "Athletes' body temperatures must be much higher than ordinary people’s, so isn’t air conditioning essential?" "It’s a big deal if air conditioning isn’t used in Korea because of the heat, so how much worse must it be there?" and "If you don’t use air conditioning in summer, the humidity will be extremely high and mold will easily form."
In response to these reports, the Korean national team quickly announced measures to cope with the heat. On the 12th, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee stated, "We will produce cooling jackets and cooling sheets using eco-friendly special refrigerants (PCM) and distribute them to national athletes heading to Paris."
Meanwhile, the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will open on the 26th of next month, will be attended by 10,500 participants from 206 countries and will feature 32 sports and 329 events. The Paris Olympic Organizing Committee has declared its commitment to leading an environmentally friendly Olympics by minimizing the carbon footprint, and plans to hold the Games by maximizing the use of existing facilities and cultural heritage sites.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
