bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

The stands have fallen quiet and the Athletes’ Village is emptying. What happens to all the equipment now the 2024 Paris Olympics are over?
Organisers have plans for it.
Over decades, the Olympics have forged a reputation for monumental waste, with whole stadiums sometimes left to rot once the two-week sporting extravaganza moves on.
But Paris promised to do things differently, using temporary venues to cut construction work but also forcing suppliers to think about a “second life” for the equipment they supplied, from tennis balls to the sand for the beach volleyball.

“Before we ordered anything, we thought about what this thing is going to become afterwards,” Paris 2024 sustainability director Georgina Grenon told AFP in an interview last week.
The approach is new for a major global sports event, with her team initially looking for ideas they could copy from Fifa football tournaments or past Olympics before deciding they needed to invent one themselves.
“We also hired consultants and nobody could tell us if this had been done before,” explained Grenon, whose team involves an expert in the so-called “circular economy”.
The first step was drawing up an inventory of everything they needed for the biggest show on earth.

“It’s as if you’re organising a wedding. If you know you have 100 guests, then you need 10 tables, 100 chairs etc,” she said.
The Paris Olympics involved 32 different sports and about 10 million spectators.
“We made the list and it amounted to about six million things, six million objects,” she explained.
At the start of the procurement process, every time Paris 2024 issued a tender, they included a clause asking the supplier to propose a second life for their products.
“We did this so that they could understand that we were not just looking to buy an object. Then it was up to them to propose to us the best model,” said Grenon.

Many of the facilities and much of the equipment used for the Olympics will be immediately redeployed for the Paralympics, which run from August 28 to September 8.
But after that, they will head to new homes.
The extra-fine sand used for the beach volleyball court in front of the Eiffel Tower, one of the Games’ iconic venues, has been promised to a club in the Paris region.
Paris 2024 logos are set to be scrubbed off podiums so that they can be used elsewhere.
The 600,000 items of office furniture leased from French company Lyreco will be taken back and used by the firm to launch a new second-hand furniture business.
The more than 14,000 mattresses made from recycled plastic used in the Olympic Village will be given to the French army, while their cardboard bases will be recycled.

The tennis balls used at Roland-Garros, including those hit by teary gold medal-winner Novak Djokovic, will be donated to French sports clubs, as will much of the other sports equipment from javelins to shot puts.
Grenon said the organising committee had confirmed second-life plans for 90 per cent of their six million items, with final deals being worked out for the remainder.
Part of their plans involve providing opportunities for fans to buy souvenirs, including the flags used during medal presentations or torches made for the relay before the Games.
Two swimming pools, the climbing wall and the skateboarding parks are also set to be dug out and moved – most of them to the deprived Seine-Saint-Denis suburb northeast of Paris.
The rented scaffolding from the temporary stands will be dismantled and reused.
But despite the focus on sustainability, the Games have faced criticism, both for their environmental performance and for so-called “greenwashing” from major corporate sponsors such as steelmaker Arcelor or car maker Toyota.

Millions of plastic bottles have been used by sponsor Coca-Cola despite a pledge from organisers to reduce single-use plastics on Olympic sites by 50 per cent compared with London 2012.
The event involves the production of vast quantities of merchandising as well as trinkets and one-off marketing giveaways that often end up in the trash.
Many environmental groups believe the Olympics are fundamentally unsustainable because of the amount of construction work involved and the millions of carbon-emitting flights taken by athletes and spectators.
But Grenon said Paris 2024 had laid down a marker, with academics at the Harvard’s MIT and France’s INSEAD business schools studying their approach.
“We always said that we wanted to turn these Games into a laboratory and that we wanted to be an accelerator,” she said.


Olympic champ Zheng, Hong Kong’s Haughey on strength, sacrifice and a winning mentality

Two months on, a Summer Olympics high turns into winter blues for Paris

Ridicule over Olympic performance too much for breaker Gunn, who says she’s retiring

Forest’s Wood on fire, Russell fastest in Mexico, 7 arrested over Olympics ceremony abuse

Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Paris Olympics: Games equipment heads for ‘second life’ after the sporting extravaganza

The 14,000 mattresses made from recycled plastic used in the Olympic Village will go to the French army, while their cardboard bases will be recycled. Photo: Reuters

Georgina Grenon, the Paris Olympics’ director of sustainability, says 90 per cent of the six million items used have “second-life” plans. Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The balls used at the tennis, including those hit by gold medallist Novak Djokovic, will be donated to French sports clubs. Photo: AP

The extra-fine sand used for the beach volleyball court has been promised to a club in the Paris region. Photo: AP

The climbing wall is set to be moved to the deprived Seine-Saint-Denis suburb northeast of Paris. Photo: AP

The Paris 2024 logos on the winners’ podiums will be scrubbed off and the structures reused. Photo: AFP

Paris Olympics: doping, fan culture and shallow pool among top 5 storylines at Games

China’s Pan Zhanle’s world-record shattering 100 metres freestyle race led to criticism over how it was achieved. Photo: Kyodo

China’s Pan Zhanle won the 100 metres freestyle final with a world-record time. Photo: Kyodo

Questions have been raised over whether the more shallow pool had an effect on swimmers’ times. Photo Reuters

Several issues and concerns were raised throughout the Games regarding the Olympic Village. Photo: EPA

Chen Meng (right) was abused on social media after beating Sun Yingsha in the table tennis final. Photo: Xinhua

Algeria boxer Imane Khelif kisses her gold medal after victory over China’s Yang Liu in the 66kg final. Photo: AP

An Olympics in the city of love? Of course people got engaged – here are our top 5 proposals

Liu Yuchen (right) and fiancee, gold medallist Huang Yaqiong, are all smiles after getting engaged in Paris. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese badminton player Liu Yuchen (right) gets down on one knee for Huang Yaqiong. Photo: Xinhua

Paris Olympics’ top 5 heartwarming moments: Pan Zhanle, Biles and rappers paying rent

Zhou Yaqin (left) on the podium for the individual women’s artistic gymnastics provided a heartwarming Paris Olympics moment. Photo: AP

Spain’s Carolina Marin is comforted by her coach Fernando Rivas after conceding her women’s singles badminton semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao. Photo: AFP

United States duo Simone Biles of the United States (left) and Jordan Chiles bow to gold medallist Rebeca Andrade. Photo: AP

Silver medallist Zhou Yaqin (left) looks on as Italy duo Alice D’Amato (centre) and Manila Esposito bite their gold and bronze medals. Photo: DPA

China’s gold medallist Pan Zhanle takes a selfie with fans after breaking the world record in the 100 metres freestyle. Photo: AP

Postcard from Paris: watching the Olympics is a tough job, but somebody has to do it

Sweden’s Armand Duplantis passes 6.25m and sets a world record in the men’s pole vault final at the Paris Olympics. Photo: AFP

Post reporter Paul McNamara tries on Vivian Kong’s gold medal for size at an interview with the Hong Kong fencer. Photo: Paul McNamara

Cheung Ka-long’s gold, Pan’s record, China’s bad maths – the most dramatic Olympic moments

Hong Kong’s Cheung Ka-long was involved in one of the most dramatic climaxes in Paris as he won his second Olympic gold medal. Photo: AP

Italy’s Filippo Macchi was left devastated by his last-gasp defeat to Hong Kong’s Cheung Ka-long. Photo: AP

China get it all wrong as they lose by a single point against Spain in the women’s basketball group phase. Photo: AFP

Pan Zhanle was China’s hero as he roared the team to gold in the men’s 4x100m medley. Photo: AP

As close as it gets, with Noah Lyles (in lane seven) winning the men’s 100m by the tiniest of margins. Photo: AFP

Sport

Paris Olympics 2024

Paris promised to do things differently and sustainably, including using temporary venues and equipment that can be recycled or repurposed


Paris promised to do things differently and sustainably, including using temporary venues and equipment that can be recycled or repurposed.


Recycling and waste reduction