What Happens to Olympic Villages After the Games Are Over

Once every four years, folks around the world turn their eyes to the Summer Olympics. The best athletes around participate in various events to determine who’s the best at each one.

Some of the most popular sports people watch are swimming and gymnastics. There’s something electric about tuning in for a big race or watching a gymnast land a backflip during a floor exercise. Different events like archery and handball are also some of the most entertaining to lay eyes on.

During the duration of the games, athletes are housed in the Olympic villages. In 2024, there are three different locations where athletes will stay. Tons of hard work goes into preparing for the event. However, these buildings are only used for roughly two weeks. After that, there’s a wide variety of outcomes for the buildings in the village. Some of these outcomes are good and continue to bring positivity to the city. Other outcomes aren’t as great.

One of the great things that potentially comes from the Olympic villages is university housing. Because the Olympics take place in major cities, there are often plenty of universities full of students. The village is set up perfectly for students to live in while they continue their studies. There are some examples of the village being completely abandoned. They appear to look like a modern-day ghost town. For more Olympic coverage, click here to read about athletes with the most Summer Olympic medals.

To gather information about what happens to Olympic villages after the show is over, 24/7 Tempo consulted Olympic-related sources, including Olympics.com.

The good that happens to Olympic villages

Tons of time and hard work goes into creating the Olympic villages for athletes. While they’re only scheduled to be used for participants for roughly two weeks, most villages are continuously used once the closing ceremony is over. One of the most popular things for an Olympic village to turn into is residences for those continuing their education. Contrary to what most people think, the rooms inside of Olympic villages aren’t big. They’re the perfect size for someone who’s in class and working all day.

Another great thing Olympic villages turn into is shopping plazas. There has to be more construction done to remove the walls and create space for restaurants to be. All of the work becomes worth it when there are thousands of people wandering around once the plaza is up and running. Some of the villages are turned into private residences. Places like Paris don’t have tons of space to build large buildings, so the village becomes a great place to rent a room out of.

The bad that happens to Olympic villages

It’s nice to consider all of the great things Olympic villages become after the games conclude. However, not every village has turned into something new once the games cease. There are some examples of villages that are purely abandoned. While it was a long time ago, the Berlin village that housed athletes during the 1936 games was completely abandoned. These days, the buildings look as though they hadn’t been seen in centuries.

The villages aren’t the only parts of the Olympics that are abandoned. There are countless examples of various venues that are used during the games that get left alone. The pool that was used during the 2016 games in Rio looks as though nobody has set foot in it since the games ended. The concrete slabs are different colors and the pool water looks like it contains countless diseases. It’s shocking to see what happens to villages and venues when they’re abandoned.

What’s going to happen to the Paris villages?

The Summer Olympics aren’t the only event that’s taking place in Paris this year. Once these games are done, athletes in the Paralympics will showcase their talents using the same villages. Those games will end in September, 2024. After that, there are clear plans to turn the area into office space and apartments. Paris is one of the most breath-taking cities in the world with instantly recognizable architecture.

The plan for the office space and apartments will be done at some point in 2025. The buildings will already be there. All that needs to be done is redesigning the interior to match what’s needed for a healthy office space and living arrangement. For more Olympic coverage, click here to read about the oldest Olympic athletes in history.

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