A handful of lucky athletes will avoid the dreaded “anti-sex” beds during the Paris Olympic Games and instead be spending their time on-board a luxury cruise ship. Surfers will compete in Tahiti from Saturday in the hopes of winning gold. They will stay together on-board the cruise ship the Aranui 5 for the event, which is being staged in Teahupo’o, a village on the southwestern coast of the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, some 15,730 kilometres from Paris.

The ship has been dubbed the “first-ever floating Olympic village” and features a Sky bar, dancing room, a library, fitness room and a spa. Unlike sports stars in Paris, who will be sleeping in a dorm-room-style hub, the 48 Olympic surfers will have their own rooms on the ship. And the best part, the athletes will have a proper bed.

The Paris athletes’ village features fully recyclable cardboard beds that have caused a stir with some athletes who have complained they are too firm. Aussie water polo star Tilly Kearns said the bed was “rock solid”. She pointed out there was a “softer side” to the mattress, but “that was the soft side”.

A teammate said “my back is about to fall off”, while the caption to a photo posted on TikTok read: “Already had a massage to undo the damage.” Aussie tennis stars Daria Saville and Ellen Perez have tested out the so-called "anti-sex" beds inside the Paris Olympics Athletes Village. The surfing event will take place over four days from Saturday but will be d.