The notorious Olympic cardboard beds, first introduced in the 2020 Tokyo Games, have made their way to Paris. A viral clip posted by SA athlete skateboarder, Brandon Valjalo, shares his discovery of the beds.
ALSO SEE: Meet the determined gymnast who will represent SA at Paris Olympics
This year, over 14 000 athletes from across the globe are lodging at the Olympic Village set in Saint-Denis, north of Paris.
Pro South African skateboarder, Brandon Valjalo, touched down in Saint-Denis this week, sharing a glimpse of the Olympic village, the South African house, and the notorious recyclable cardboard beds that were first introduced at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
@brandonvaljalo Just pulled up to the village and had to run it back up yall! #olympics #paris2024 #brandonvaljalo ♬ son original – TRINIX
The beds, according to News24, can take up to 250kg and are made with recyclable materials by Japanese company, Airwave.
Despite a widespread, long-running joke that the beds are ‘anti-sex’ beds, designed to encourage athletes to abstain during the games, the organisers of the Paris Games stated that their choice in bedding, is purely an environmental one.
“For Paris 2024, the choice of these beds for the Olympic and Paralympic Village is primarily linked to a wider ambition to ensure minimal environmental impact and a second life for all equipment used during the short period of the Games,” said the organisers in a statement.
In fact, Laurent Michaud, director of the village, noted that an astounding number of 300 000 condoms will be available during the Paris Games.
According to Motokuni Takaoka, CEO of Airwave, the beds are designed for sleep. Anything beyond those realms, they are not concerned with.
“We just wanted to create a mattress that is stronger than a normal mattress. We’re only focused on sleep; we’re not concerned with anything else that happens on the bed,” said Takaoka, in conversation with The Japan Times.
Many users in the comments section of Valjalo’s video, which has amassed over 5.3 million views on TikTok, celebrate Paris’ eco-friendly and recyclable approach to bedding for the Olympic games.
Others share their disillusionment with thinking that athletes are generally put up in five-star hotels for the Olympic games.
@Sifadior commented: “I always thought Olympic athletes get treated like stars and stay in fancy hotels 😭 or the olympic village has the best rooms and stuff,”
@Maalikah wrote: “Cardboard beds wow. I think its bc of the bug investation last time😳😳”
@theoriginalmrsred commented: “those are genius! Cost saving at it’s best!”
@octaviamua_ wrote: “I’m here for this, recycling ar it’s best!”
The Paris Olympic Games are now underway, from 26 July to 11 August.
ALSO SEE:
Tatjana Schoenmaker swims her way to Olympics: ‘On my way to Paris’
Feature Image: TikTok /@brandonvaljalo
