This summer the Olympic games are coming to Paris, France, where the first Olympic Village was constructed 100 years ago. Compared to that first village, the 2024 accommodations will have plenty of new amenities – including around 300,000 condoms.
That’s according to Sky News, which spoke with Olympic Village Director Lauren Michaud.
“It is very important that the conviviality here is something big,” Michaud told the outlet.
It won’t be the first time that Olympians have had access to condoms. CBS News reported that providing condoms in the Olympic Village has been a tradition since the 1988 Seoul Olympics, intended to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS. Even though there was an intimacy ban during the 2021 Olympic games in Tokyo, Japan due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials still handed about around 150,000 condoms.
“The distribution of condoms is not for use at the athletes’ village, but to have athletes take them back to their home countries to raise awareness [of HIV and AIDS],” Olympic organizers told Reuters.
While 300,000 may seem like a lot, it is overshadowed by the record-breaking 450,000 distributed during the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Olympics in 2016, per Axios.
“Correct and consistent use of the male latex condom is highly effective in reducing STD transmission,” in addition to being effective at preventing pregnancy, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Use a condom every time you have anal, vaginal, or oral sex.”
CBS News asked people who have participated in the Olympic games whether myths about athletes having sex are true.
“I have never seen a single condom at the Olympics,” said Steve Holcomb, a two-time Olympian who piloted a gold medal-winning USA 4-man bobsled team. “I hear stories about it being party central and a sex fest and I say, ‘I have no idea what you're talking about.’”
However, others say they have seen some romps during the games.
“Several Olympians, including U.S. women's soccer goalkeeper Hope Solo, recently told ESPN The Magazine that athletes had sex on the Olympic village grass, in whirlpools and on balconies,” said CBS.
Around 9,000 athletes expected to arrive at the village constructed in the communes of Saint-Denis, Île-Saint-Denis and Saint-Ouen in July. This year’s games run from July 26 through Aug. 11.
Another interesting note about the 2024 Olympic Village are the cardboard bed frames athletes will find there. Sky News said these frames are sturdy enough to hold more than 550 pounds.