Aussie Olympians have started settling into their accommodation in Paris – with several stars revealing the staggering amounts of free items and services they’ve been lavished with.
The contingent of 460 Australian athletes began arriving in France today with some providing a behind-the-scenes look at the village they will call home for the next three weeks – and the eye-opening amount of free items and services they will have access to.
The windows of the lower floors of their accommodation sport images of some Australia’s most iconic landscapes including Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef, while banners reading: Australia, Merci Paris and Allez Aus, don the upper balconies.
The Aussie operations team has been in Paris for several weeks working to unpack nine shipping containers of uniforms and five containers of general items.
They have prepared 600 bags of uniforms for athletes and officials, along with creating an environment team for members to relax including a yarning circle, Woolworths performance pantry, recovery spaces and a gym.
Aussie tennis player Daria Saville shared footage of the on-site beauty salon where athletes can enjoy a free haircut, as well as getting their nails done for a small fee.
‘Unreal! So grateful! Thank you!!’ she posted.
‘Nails isn’t free but it’s so cheap (depends where you are from).’
She then showed footage of a rack of expensive Olay beauty products, all of which are free for the taking.
Aussie tennis player Daria Saville enjoys a free haircut with her Olympic swag in front of her
All Aussie Olympians were gifted a brand-new Samsung phone on arrival to the village
The sheer amount of merchandise each athlete received is staggering, with water polo star Tilly Kearns giving fans a glimpse of it in her Instagram video (pictured)
Australian Stingers women’s water polo star Tilly Kearns was also impressed.
She shared footage of her arrival to the athlete’s village with her Stingers teammate Gabi Palm and the smorgasboard of freebies included in their room with the caption ‘spoilt rotten’.
‘I don’t even know where to start with this,’ she said.
She revealed that the athletes received a host of goodies, including new shoes, 50,000 Qantas points, luggage and even brand-new Samsung smartphones.
Not everything was a hit, though, with Kearns and Palm having a laugh at the tennis dress that was included.
Not everything is a hit, with water polo players Kearns (foreground) and her teammate Gabi Palm (background) mocking the tennis dress they received
‘I don’t think I’ll be wearing this,’ laughed Palm.
Aussie sprinter Mia Gross could not contain her excitement as she unboxed her Australian team merchandise in the village.
‘I’m literally about to cry. I’m an Australian kid at the 2024 Olympic Games,’ she said.
The 23-year-old danced, spun and smiled her way through the unveiling of all of the Australian-themed clothing she received, with one seemingly average item stopping her in her tracks.
‘No way, it’s a reversible f***ing bucket hat!’ she gasped.
In another nod to home and heritage, the Australian section of the village has been adorned with Indigenous designs that are also included on the team uniforms.
The centrepiece of the village is the ‘Yarning Circle’, which was designed by former Indigenous Australian boxer Brad Hore.
‘It’s very much creating a safe energy in that circle. We’re seeing teams sit there and gather in their downtime,’ Deputy Chef de Mission and former Indigenous Australian Olympic hurdler Kyle Vander-Kuyp said.
Jessica Fox is pictured with her sister Noemie Fox (on left of left-hand photo) who will join her in Paris for the Olympic Games
An external view of the Australian allotment of the Olympic Village for the 2024 Games
The Aussie section of the athletes village features several large images of iconic landmarks from back home
Aussie boxer Brad Hore designed the yarning circle (pictured) in the centre of the team’s section of the village
The occasion was huge for some of the debutant athletes, like slalom canoeist Noemie Fox who will get to join her gold medalist sister Jessica at the Paris Olympics.
‘I’m able to wear the green and gold finally – it’s not just the hand me downs,’ she said.
Jessica also provided a behind-the scenes look.
She shared a clip of the massive warehouse where the uniforms are being stored.
‘One of the best parts about being an athelete is of course the Olympic uniform,’ she said.
‘Super excited to try on all my kid, I got to do it with my sister who’s at her first games.
‘I think we’re going to look so good.’
The Aussie athletes will also get to enjoy plenty of the creature comforts of home, with plenty of Milo and Weet-Bix shipped over to Paris.
Organisers have also included three Australian team baristas will meet the athletes’ daily caffeine requirements at an outdoor cafe.
‘There’s a lot of interest in being the barista for the Australian Olympic Team,’ laughed chef de mission Anna Meares.
On top of that, the Aussies will have access to three nutritionists, two psychologists, four wellbeing officers, two PCR machines, eight ice baths, and one embedded Australian Federal Police officer.
The Aussie Olympians received branded clothing for all occasions in their welcome packs
The Aussie sailing team were also treated to generous gifts upon their arrival in Marseille
The Paris 2024 opening ceremony will begin at 3.30am on Saturday, July 27, but the competition will actually kick off a few days earlier.
The action begins at 11pm on Wednesday, July 24 with a couple of men’s football games, while the men’s rugby sevens starts half an hour later.
Several competitions begin before the opening ceremony, including archery and handball.
Once the opening ceremony is done, the official ‘Day 1’ will begin on Saturday afternoon.
Medals will be awarded in cycling, diving, fencing, judo, rugby sevens, shooting, skateboarding and swimming that same day.
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