Olympic surfers sleep on a cruise ship in Tahiti, a first for the Games

TEAHUPO’O, Tahiti (AP) — Cardboard beds might be Paris’ solution to providing athletes a place to sleep for the 2024 Olympics. But some 10,000 miles away in Tahiti, where the surfing competition is taking place, it’s a cruise ship.

About 45 minutes from the surfing venue, the Aranui 5 ship is able to accommodate about 230 passengers in over 100 cabins, with eight guest decks, a spa and gym, according to its website. It’s anchored just off shore and the surfers, coaches and others take small boats to get back and forth.

“They have a wonderful location for the village, which is on a ship,” French Polynesian President Moetai Brotherson told The Associated Press. “It’s unusual, but they seem to like it.”

While media have been restricted from boarding the ship, athletes have shared photos and video on their social media that offer a glimpse into what the Olympics say is the first-ever floating athlete village.

“I think our athlete village in Tahiti is better than the actual one in Paris,” surfer Kanoa Igarashi of Japan said on TikTok, sharing a video tour of the accommodations.

In the video, he shows the amenities on board, including a 24-hour dining hall, fully stocked Olympic gift store and activity center with ping pong and foosball tables.

Matt Scorringe, a coach traveling with the New Zealand surfing team, shared an Instagram video from the ship showing a pool with a statue of the Olympic rings at one end.

On TikTok, German surfer Tim Elter posted the sea view from his cabin, jokingly tapping the bed frame, saying how it’s not cardboard like those at the Olympic village for athletes in Paris.

The ship helps alleviate some of the larger-than-usual crowds and need for new buildings that locals and activists said could affect the small town at the end of the road on the small island.

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Not all athletes competing in Tahiti are staying on the ship.

Some national teams or individuals have rented houses closer to the waves, sharing photos of boardwalks leading from their back doors to the shore, communal dinners with teammates and lush green lawns lined with palm trees.