Why is surfing being held in Tahiti at Paris Olympics 2024? All about decision that made the locals there unhappy

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Jul 22, 2024 06:56 GMT

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Paris Olympics is all set to begin this week. The controversies are, however, far from over. The latest issue has been in the sport of surfing, as the manner of the event's organization has made the locals around the venue unhappy.

Almost a decade ago, surfing was a part of the sports approved by the International Olympic Committee to make an official debut at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Paris Olympics would be the second time this sport would be a part of the Summer Olympics.

However, the venue of surfing is now becoming the Achilles' heel of the Paris Olympics' organizing committee. As per the reports, surfing is being organized at a village in Tahiti, which is way beyond the main venue of Paris, approximately at a distance of a mind-boggling 15730 km! Yes, let that sink in.

Tahiti's problem with the organizers of Paris Olympics

So why are the residents of Tahiti angry with the organizers of the Paris Olympics? The official venue for surfing is at the reef pass of Teahupo'o, a village situated in Tahiti, which is one of the largest islands within French Polynesia.

This is not the first time though that at an Olympic event was held far away from the main venue. In the 1950s, Australia had a strict quarantine rule for the horses, which was not acceptable to the IOC. Due to this, the equestrian events for the 1956 Summer Olympics were held in Stockholm, Sweden, instead of Melbourne, the original venue.

The question that arises here is, what exactly is the problem with Teahupo'o Reef Pass being the venue for surfing at the Paris Olympics? To begin with, there are no direct flights from Paris to Papeete, a major city on Tahiti island. The inter-connecting flights take more than 20 hours to cover in total.

Locals participating at the opening ceremony of a surfing competiton in Teahupo'o [Image Source: Getty]

Despite Teahupo'o's popularity as an ideal surfing hotspot, people are not happy with the village being one of the venues for the Paris Olympics. This is because of the ecological damage the organizers are causing to this place.

Organizing an Olympic event of this level means building new infrastructure like roads and housing, organizing for air conditioning, judging towers, toilets, etc. But that would mean drilling into the reefs to lay a concrete foundation, alongside the permanent installation of several underwater pipes and internet cables, all at the cost of the natural environment.

Such construction not only threatens marine life but also the villagers, who might unknowingly consume contaminated fish, which might have disastrous results. This is the way the locals are protesting against this decision, especially the tower building for judges since October 2023 itself.

However, within a few months, the authorities relented, proposing to build a wooden tower with less harmful modifications. While the tourists may stay at the local houses, the surfers participating in the event will stay aboard a cruise ship.

Surfing at Paris Olympics is only the tip of the iceberg

However, if you think the surfing controversy at the Paris Olympics is the only major problem, think again.

For the first time since the Seoul Olympics, an Olympic event has been overshadowed by the controversies surrounding it. Even if we keep the politics surrounding the participation of Russian and Belarussian athletes aside, the organizers haven't done a good job either.

The OC of the Paris Olympics has claimed the current edition to be one of the greenest Olympics ever. However, in that bid, the organizers have removed the air conditioning facilities altogether, forcing some of the American athletes to bring their portable ACs.

Seine river, one of the main venues for Paris Olympics [Image Source: Getty]

Apart from that, there are several security concerns surrounding the Paris Olympics as well, even though the authorities have claimed that nothing will go wrong. Even the Seine River, which will be the venue for the opening ceremony, as well as the open water swimming and the triathlon events, is being looked at with suspicion, owing to several reports of the river's contaminated nature.