The 2024 Olympic Games promise to be not only the most politicized in decades, but also the most anecdotal.
Reducing Carbon Footprint
In addition to various cargoes that sports delegations usually bring with them, this time some countries decided to bring air conditioners to Paris. This is the method they chose to save their own athletes, as they were not ready to fully appreciate the efforts of the Games organizers.
The organizers claimed to aspire to have the status of the “greenest” Olympics, promising to halve the so-called carbon footprint compared to previous similar competitions.
It was announced that 95% of all Olympic facilities would consist of existing or temporary infrastructure – the latter is expected to be dismantled after the Olympics. Only “green” technologies and environmentally friendly materials were used in the construction and outfitting of the facilities.
The Olympic Village, which cost 2 billion euros to build, has been declared an environmentally clean area, with carbon dioxide emissions reduced by 50% compared to ordinary residential neighborhoods.
A Good Night’s Sleep Matters More Than “Greenery”
Due to this, the organizers decided to forego traditional air conditioners in the rooms – instead, a water-based cooling system was created, circulating through pipes laid in the buildings, which should significantly lower the temperature.
However, all these idyllic scenes have not convinced representatives of those countries whose athletes plan to compete in Paris for medals. The reason being that in recent years, Paris has experienced abnormal heat in July-August, with temperatures occasionally exceeding 35 degrees.
How exactly it will be this time is still unknown, but delegations prefer to take precautions.
The head of the Australian Olympic Committee delegation, Anna Meares, told The Guardian that portable air conditioning systems will be installed in Australian athletes’ rooms, a decision considered “strategic for achieving high results.” Athletes need to sleep well in hot weather, Australia believes, indicating that this is more important than the intentions of the Olympic organizers.
No “Trust in Science”
Representatives of the Greek Olympic Committee announced that they intend to follow suit, meeting the wishes of their athletes.
Among the “rebels” who also plan to use portable air conditioners are the delegations of the USA, UK, Italy, and Denmark.
If the air conditioners work at full capacity, all the “carbon ambitions” of the Olympic organizers will literally go down the drain. Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris and the main ideologue of the “green games”, advised Olympians to “trust in science,” arguing that the new cooling technologies in the Olympic Village will not disappoint.
But, apparently, potential participants are more confident in the state of the River Seine, where the holding of some competitions was canceled due to poor water quality contaminated with fecal waste.
It is very difficult to imagine a situation where French police would burst into the rooms of Americans, Britons, and Australians to confiscate “non-ecological” air conditioners.
Therefore, the organizers of Paris 2024, who have become obsessed with the “green haze,” literally have no choice but to pray for the weather during the Games to be suitable not for air conditioners, but for warm blankets. It seems that they have no environmental concerns at the moment.