Ireland to spend thousands on air-con for Olympians after Paris bans A/C to meet climate goals.

IRELAND will foot the bill for its athletes' air conditioning in their 2024 Olympic accommodations. The Olympic Village in Paris, the host city, will not have air conditioning because it wants to adhere to "exemplary environmental standards" during the Games. With a commitment to establishing a circular economy during the Games and a promise of a carbon-neutral event, Paris has made environmental concerns a top priority for the Olympics. There are worries, meanwhile, that the summertime heat in the French capital would make circumstances uncomfortable for athletes during the most crucial weeks of their careers. In July, Paris has typical temperatures of 15 to 25 degrees Celsius, with the possibility of exceeding 40 degrees during a heatwave. A recent study issued a warning in case the capital experienced a heatwave lasting several weeks during the events. The Irish contingent will have air conditioning according to a decision made by the Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI), which will cost approximately €60,000 overall.

The choice is made possible via a rate card, which is a list of additional services that delegations can pay for and use for their athletes. According to an Olympic spokeswoman for Paris, the athlete housing would have features like water circulation in the floors that is geothermally cooled, "which should provide quality comfort for athletes, without having to use 'traditional' AC." They said that the rate card provides cooling options with the "lowest possible carbon impact." According to the OFI, the choice to pay for air conditioning was made because of "performance." Despite being close to the host nation, the OFI's estimated total spending for Paris 2024—which includes transporting the Olympians to France—will be around €4.7 million, ranking it among the federation's largest budgets in recent memory. The cost for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (which were moved to 2021 because to the pandemic) was estimated to be €3.3 million. Currently under construction, around 7 km from the city centre, in the Parisian suburbs of Saint-Denis, Ile Saint-Denis, and Saint-Ouen, is the Olympic Village, where athletes and their teams will reside during the games. The majority of the games will be held in Stade de France, which is just next to the villages. In addition to workers, 14,500 athletes will reside at the 51-hectare facility along the Seine. The OFI stated that considering the dedication to energy efficiency, it is anticipated that newly constructed housing will naturally be colder than older structures. There are still tickets available for Irish fans to support their nation, but they cost between €90 and €2,700 for the opening ceremony and the preliminary events.