Volunteer in training.
This summer, I am about to experience a once-in-a-lifetime event; Olympic volunteering will be a one-off for nearly all the 50,000 recruits, even if a few have previous experience, and a very few have even competed in past Games.
Since my candidacy was accepted three months ago, I have attended in-person training sessions across Paris. All four meetings have had a high energy vibe, building on the growing sense of anticipation at the volunteer kick-off day back in April. The Olympic clock is now ticking down and after the Flame arrives in Paris this weekend, it will be only two weeks until the spectacular Opening Ceremony on the river Seine.
My fellow Olympic bénévoles are a strikingly diverse group; a mix of men and women, young and old, African, Caucasian, Latin and Asian. Our bosses, the JO 2024 organisers, feel youthful and inclusive and convey a clear sense of pride in this unique project.
I will serve as one of the 5300 recruits representing la Ville de Paris; as distinct from the bulk of the volunteer force assisting at individual sports events. Our role exists because less than a quarter of the expected visitors will have tickets, as was apparently the case in London in 2012.
The Ville de Paris team, defined by the organisers as ‘Ambassadors’ are therefore the first point of contact for some 11 million non-ticketed guests seeking a good time in Paris and needing urgent assistance finding toilets, phone chargers, water, shade, trains… All volunteers in the ‘Festivités’ team will welcome guests with a broad smile and an Olympic-issue tablet to demonstrate useful apps, such as translation. Even if most visitors are anticipated to come from within France, some of the team also speak other languages such as Chinese, Spanish and English.
To prepare the volunteer force to serve, we have been in Olympic Spring training. We have learned much in that time; to better share cultural insights with visitors, we have a free pass to visit museums as well as online refresher courses about Paris’ key monuments.
There have been training courses in languages and in First Aid treatments (defibrillators turn out to be multilingual and speak to responders in both French and English!). The volunteers have taken on board the key Olympic messages and had coaching on interacting with visitors, including role play with difficult people who may be tired and emotional. Since much of our Festivités role is about making swift connections with other people, one key learning from the coaches has been to think in the present moment and not the past or the future.
Throughout my service at both Olympic and Paralympic Games, I will be dressed in the official turquoise and pink Olympic uniform. Our team will be based opposite the Louvre between the flagship Hotel de Ville fan zone and the Place de la Concorde which hosts new ‘Urban Sports’ events such as breakdancing.
I am looking forward to meeting a wide variety of people during my seven-hour shifts in the historical city centre. The simple idea is for us to help showcase Paris, since a main point of difference of these Games is precisely that the stadium is the city itself. Constructions have only been developed if they will remain genuinely useful after the Games. From macro to micro, sustainability is a major theme at the JO 2024—from making the most of the existing patrimoine of Paris to the absence of throwaway plastic bottles.
Residents of Paris have recently had to adapt to the growing transport restrictions in the lead-up to the JO and some are opting to leave the city for the duration of the Games. It is often said that all Olympic host cities experience doubt and negativity prior to the Opening Ceremony. Paris is no exception. Most cities then discover the joy of making meaningful connections through sport and being part of a unique and life-changing experience.
The infectious energy at the volunteer training camps has been a taster of this and will hopefully be part of its legacy. In uncertain political times, I will be concentrating, like the other volunteers and organisers, on savouring the present Olympic moment.
