After the crowd’s cries, the sounds of construction resume. While the Paris 2024 Games officially ended on Sunday, September 8, it is now time to dismantle the Olympic sites.
Across the capital, the permanent sites and temporary installations that have hosted the events since July 26 are already being dismantled, as indicated on Tuesday, September 10 during a press conference by Édouard Donnelly, executive director of operations for Paris 2024, Christophe Rosa, deputy general delegate for the Olympic Games at Paris City Hall and Yann Krysinski, director of operations at Solideo.
Work began on Sunday at the Stade de France, in all the Arenas (Arena Paris Sud, Adidas Arena, Arena Bercy, etc.), but also in all the Olympic sites in central Paris (Place de la Concorde, Hôtel de Ville, etc.).
From one week to six months of work
As for the Olympic sites within permanent structures, such as the Grand Palais, the Arenas or the Stade de France, these places will be vacated very quickly. With the exception of the Paris la Défense Arena, all will be available for other events “within one or two weeks”.
For temporary sites, the dismantling will necessarily take longer. Stands, sports facilities… The work will be spread over the next few weeks in order to restore the sites to normal, in particular by removing the approximately 300 kilometers of barrier used during the competition.
Dismantling on the Place de la Concorde began on August 29, and traffic has been possible there again since Tuesday, September 10. A little further away, between the 7th and 16th arrondissements of Paris, the Trocadéro, Eiffel Tower and Champ-de-Mars sites will be ready by the end of October. The majority of the Champ-de-Mars and Trocadéro gardens will be the first to be vacated, from the end of September, before the Eiffel Tower Stadium at the end of next month.
On the Pont Alexandre III side, the building that hosted the stands and the arrival of the triathlons and road cycling events during the competitions, will be vacated by the end of September, as will most of the traffic lanes at Les Invalides.
Finally, in Versailles, the infrastructure will be dismantled by the end of the year on the Place de l’Étoile Royale and coupled with restoration work until spring 2025. Paris 2024 will organize some site visits during the dismantling, the schedule is currently being drawn up.
The Olympic village will be inhabited from 2025
The Olympic village of Saint-Denis, one of the rare buildings to emerge from the ground for the Paris Games, will complete its mission for Paris 2024 at the end of October. Reconversion work will then begin from November.
The arrival of the first residents in the media village is currently scheduled for the first quarter of 2025. For the athletes’ village and the opening to the public, the schedule is set for the end of next year. This will represent 6,000 new residents and 4,000 homes in total, while the district will be 100% accessible to people with disabilities.
Another legacy of the Olympic competitions: four new schools and several parks for Seine-Saint-Denis have been created. In addition, students who had to leave their accommodation will be able to return to it.
Finally, the objects and furniture will be given a second life after their time at Paris 2024, through flea markets, second-hand sites and donations to charities.
- RMC Sport
