Certain Olympic athletes are skipping the traditional village experience for life on a cruise ship.
The surfers at the Paris 2024 Games, who are competing in Tahiti, which is more than 15,000 kilometres away from Paris, will stay on a cruise ship named Aranui 5. Aranui is a cruise company that typically uses this boat for tours around the South Pacific area.
Athletes get their own room as well as have access to common spaces such as a 24-hour dining space, an activity room with ping-pong, and a gift shop, among other amenities.
Japanese athlete Kanoa Igarashi gave a tour of the cruise ship on his TikTok. In the video, you can see some of the common spaces available to athletes, as well as his room.
@kanoaigarashi i think our athlete village in tahiti is better than the actual one in paris 😅 #olympics #athletevillage #surf ♬ original sound – Kanoa Igarashi
Non-surfing athletes located back in the Paris Olympic village will be staying on beds made of cardboard, and they don’t look very comfortable. The beds on the cruise ship have a traditional mattress, which one would assume would result in a more comfortable experience.
It’s a luxury that has been noted by a few athletes on social media already.
@callmetimmey No cardboard beds on the floating village in Tahiti 😂 #olympics #paris24 ♬ Young Free and Single – Frank Jade
Surfing has only been included at the Olympics twice, as it made its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Camilla Kemp, a surfer from Germany, also posted a few videos to TikTok showing off her room on the cruise ship.
@camilla_kemp FIRST FLOATING OLYMPIC VILLAGE @Olympics #teamdeutschland #olympics #paris2024 #surfingolympics #surfing ♬ Heavy Wave – Motorama
Kemp also shared this incredible clip of her approaching the big ship, which gives viewers a good idea of its size.
@camilla_kemp ARANUI 5 our Olympic Village in Tahiti @Tim Elter #olympics #surfingolympics #teamdeutschland #paris2024 #surfing ♬ Outro by m83 – 𝙡𝙤𝙡𝙖
It’s a much different experience than that had by the athletes living in the Paris Olympic village.
The big boat will house the athletes for the duration of the event and is parked just a five-minute boat ride from the shore in Teahupo’o, Tahiti. It’s all part of French Polynesia, France, where the event is taking place.
Below, you can see that it would take more than 20 hours to fly from the surfing event to Paris. It’s hard to pick two places further apart on the globe.
Google Maps
Sanoa Dempfle-Olin, from Tofino, British Columbia, is Canada’s lone surfer competing in the event this year. She’s the first-ever Canadian surfer to go to the Olympics.
The Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony takes place on Friday, July 26. The surfing event starts on July 27, and it will be available to stream for free, along with all the other events, for all Canadians.