The viral Olympic Village cardboard beds given second life post Paris 2024

The viral Olympic Village cardboard beds that athletes slept on at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have been removed and will be shipped elsewhere for a second life as part of Olympic Games sustainability aims.

This summer's Olympic Games in Paris followed Tokyo 2020 in providing athletes with cardboard beds, initially mooted to have been introduced to limit intimate relationships between athletes. The rumours began after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) advised against close athlete interaction during the height of the coronavirus pandemic causing athletes to assume the beds were designed to hold no more than one person’s weight.

The "anti-sex beds", as they were dubbed, have been the subject of much speculation and controversy making waves across social media once again this year as numerous athletes posted videos sharing their experiences and debunked the reports.

Paris 2024 Organisers denied the rumours and explained that the real reason for the implementation of cardboard beds is their eco-friendly nature as the Olympic Games bid to become a more sustainable event.

In July, official Olympic accounts shared a video on social media saying "These sustainable beds are 100% made in France and will be 100% recycled in France after the games."

Now the 16,000 Olympic Village beds manufactured by Japanese company Airweave have been removed and will be shipped to different recipients around France.

"We will donate to a diverse (group) of organisations in France," said Chie Fujii, Logistics Manager of Airweave Paris 2024 Project. "And yes, the mattress is totally washable. No bed bugs! Which will make it easy to facilitate the second life."
"From the beginning, Paris 2024 had a double vision," said the President of the Paris Olympic Games, Tony Estanguet. "To have a spectacular Games but also a responsible Games and all our partners were involved in those two ambitions."

"Speaking about the legacy and sustainability of the games…the responsibility of the Games, we tried to imagine how much we can guarantee and provide a second life for all the equipment used for Paris 2024," said Estanguet.