PARIS — There are no consistent surf spots close to Paris. The nearest are in and around Biarritz and Hossegor, just north of the Basque country, close to the Spanish border – around 500 miles away from the French capital. But they are a darn sight closer than Tahiti, where the Paris 2024 surfing competition is being held.
The choice of Teahupo’o as the venue for the Olympic Games appeared at first glance the epitomy of French haughtiness – we have the world’s best spot in one of our colonies and, Mon Dieu , we are going to exploit it. It was a decision that was met with enthusiasm by the athletes, especially those who are not of the calibre of those in the World Surf League , the top-level competition circuit. But it was far less popular among locals.
Resistance to the Olympic circus coming to town for the weekend grew when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that it needed to build a more permanent judging tower than the temporary wooden one that had been built and dismantled yearly since the early 2000s. Read Next The Paris 2024 Olympics is fooling no-one with its shameless propaganda The IOC said the tower needed to be made of aluminium and required air-conditioning and toilets. And that it needed to be built on the fragile coral reef just out of reach of the wave.
Resistance came from the biggest name in the sport, Kelly Slater, who said last year: “It doesn’t make sense to build such a huge tower for a two-day event.” And the residents of.