We’ve all been obsessed with the Olympic Village ever since the 2024 Paris Olympic Games kicked off. From the cardboard beds to the chocolate muffins to the freebie hauls, Olympian life is fascinating for all us plebs who couldn’t run 100 metres if we tried.
When the Olympics first kick off, the Village is obviously packed and buzzing, but British track athlete Lina Nielsen posted a TikTok that had people asking… wait, athletes have to leave the Olympic Village?
Here’s the vid she posted:
@linaruns And a nail and hair salon? #olympicvillage #olympics #paris2024 #roadtoparis ♬ original sound – Georgia Pearson
The video prompted heaps of questions, and Lina popped into the comments to answer some (TY, informative queen). One user asked: “Do people leave before the closing ceremony?” to which Lina replied: ‘Unfortunately” with a crying emoji.
Here I was thinking that the Closing Ceremony was like the Opening Ceremony and everyone attended it, but apparently not. The things you learn!
Another person who has clearly been enjoying the Olympic Village content said “I wasn’t prepared for departures!!!” to which Lina replied: “We’re late arrivals to the village and it feels a little empty”.
To be fair, aside from the chocolate muffins the vegan food situation did sound a little dire, and those beds do look mighty uncomfy, so it makes sense that some elite athletes would voluntarily get TF outta there.
But not only that, it turns out some athletes are actually forced to vacate the Olympic Village 48 hours after their event.
For the Paris Olympics, the Australian Olympic Committee passed a rule that athletes would need to vacate two days after their events were done — a rule first introduced during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games due to the COVID pandemic.
Apparently part of the reasoning is that athletes competing in later events won’t be disturbed by those having knock-off drinks in the Olympic Village once their events are done and dusted.
Several athletes — mostly swimmers who compete in the first week of the Games — vented their anger to the Courier-Mail after the decision was made public back in January.
“I’m pretty riled about this,” gold medallist Ariarne Titmus told the publication. “After you’ve worked so hard to go to the Olympics, to be removed from that entire environment as soon as you finish… I just think that it’s a bit of a rip off.
“I completely understand the reasoning behind it that you want every Olympic athlete in the Australian team to have the best possible chance to perform the best they can. But not having Australian athletes in the Olympic Village isn’t going to remove the partying from every other athlete in the Village from around the world.
“The Australian swim team are the major medal winners for our country. We don’t get to go to the opening ceremony because we’re racing the first day. Now we don’t get to the closing. We literally miss out on our Olympic experience other than racing.”
The girl makes a point, your honour.
Fellow golden girl Kaylee McKeown chimed in on the Olympic Village debacle, adding: “It does make me mad. It makes a lot of athletes mad because we got that taken away from us because of a reason. And now there’s not really that COVID reason anymore. Just let us experience an Olympic Games.”
LET THEM LIVE!
You might be thinking: who cares about the shitty Olympic Village? Just go and stay in a hotel or Airbnb!
But anyone who has tried to get decent accommodation in Paris during summer, let alone during the Olympics, will probably laugh in your face.
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