"I Didn't Sleep" — 4 BIZARRE Olympic Village Surprises Exposed By Paris 2024 Athletes

Tis the season for one of the biggest global events of the year!

That’s right, it’s time for the Olympics! The opening ceremonies have already happened and throughout the next few weeks, the schedule in Paris will be full of various sporting events. But perhaps one of the most interesting things about the 2024 Olympics is the behind-the-scenes glimpse we’re getting into the Olympic Village.

The Olympic Village, if you didn’t know, is the complex where many of the international athletes stay during their time in Paris. The somewhat dorm-like accommodations are meant to encourage camaraderie and provide lodging close to the various events. But with many of this generation’s athletes having a following on TikTok, we’re getting a behind-the-scenes look at the Olympic Village in a new way.

Ever since athletes arrived in Paris, our FYPs have been filled with videos of the cardboard beds, the massive dining hall, and the many coffee shops in the Village. And Business Insider rifled through many of those videos to compile some of the chief complaints from the Olympians.

The Cardboard Beds

In the dorm room-like accommodations, the beds are pretty infamous. Why? Because they’re literally made of cardboard. They’re topped with mattress pieces, but many have complained that they’re incredibly hard and difficult to sleep on.

“We stayed one night in the village, and I didn’t sleep,” said Celia Dupre, a rower from Switzerland. “The cardboard box bed was so uncomfortable — hard as a rock. And then the Olympic duvet was really itchy, and it was really hot.”

No Air Conditioning

Dupre also shared that the facility doesn’t have any air conditioning. Instead, it features a water-cooling system that is supposed to keep everything nice and cool. However, with temperatures heading into the 90s, this can be a problem.

Olympic officials have shared that the rooms are equipped with thermostats that control the speed of the water flow, which can change the temperature of the room by only 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s not much control over the temp! The water cooling system supposedly keeps the rooms between 73 and 79 degrees Fahrenheit.

Food Problems

Other athletes have raised complaints about the food at the Olympic Village. Zahria Allers-Liburd, a track and field athlete representing St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean, shared a video on TikTok noting how the quality of the food was not up to par.

In the caption of the video, she mentioned that she lost 5 pounds in the first few days from eating in the Olympic Village, joking that she was in need of a Chipotle bowl ASAP.

Privacy Concerns

Besides the complaints above, another main concern has been with privacy for the athletes. Some have reported that there were no curtains in their rooms, and that they’ve had to hang towels over the windows to get some privacy.

Another problem is that in some cases, 10 athletes are sharing 2 bathrooms in an apartment-like setup. That makes for some serious bathroom scheduling conflicts!

We’ll be interested to see what other news comes from the Olympics! Stay tuned to AllEars for all the updates.