At a cost of R$ 1.25 million, the COB (Brazilian Olympic Committee) will sign a partnership with Saint-Ouen, a city of 51,000 inhabitants, eight kilometers from Paris. The location will be the main logistical headquarters for the Brazilian delegation at the 2024 Olympics.
Saint-Ouen’s role will be similar to Chuo’s in the Tokyo 2020 Games. The choice of the French municipality was revealed by the Sheet in March this year. This Thursday (16), the president of the COB, Paulo Wanderley, participates in a ceremony alongside Mayor Karim Bouamrane to sign the agreement.
“It is 600 meters from the Olympic Village. It is a facilitator that has no size. The city is interested, and we are making an agreement with the city hall. There is an involvement, and they want us here. They are facilities that perfectly meet our proposal “, says Wanderley.
According to the COB, the expenses for adapting the physical structures will be shared with the city. Before signing the partnership, COB employees traveled to France four times to prospect possible locations.
“It will be simpler logistics [em relação a Tóquio], but when it comes to people, everything is complicated. We have a smaller time zone, it’s five o’clock [no Japão, são 12], there is the issue of distance, which is half of what if you went to Tokyo. It makes the situation less difficult. But every service to be offered has its difficulties, whether here or in Malaysia”, he adds.
Saint-Ouen is not the only base planned for the Brazilian team at Paris-2024. There will also be one in Rio Maior, Portugal. The COB already has a partnership since July 2020 with the city, which will be able to receive athletes from swimming, athletics, triathlon, volleyball, handball and boxing, among other sports, during the preparation.
There will also be specific bases for some modalities, according to the committee. Examples are Marseille (sailing), Saine-et-Marne (canoeing and rowing), Lille (handball) and Tahiti (surfing).
The base in Saint-Ouen was one of the COB’s priorities because there is no space in the Olympic Village, credentials are limited, to accommodate all necessary services just before and during the Games.
The idea is to divide some of the operations considered important among five locations in the city: one for a performance support service, which can also serve as a meeting point for family members; another for operational services and cooking of Brazilian foods; two (Parc des Docks and Gymnase des Docks) for beach and court volleyball training; and one for uniform logistics.
“Now, we have to consolidate what was projected. Different confederations already have a history of participating in events in Europe. Now, they should accelerate this process”, concludes Wanderley.
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