Village of the World -- First Visit

Back in 1996, a couple of colleagues with the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) international relations team composed an original song -- "Village of the World" -- in which almost 200 national Olympic committees got mention in the lyrics.

I hummed this tune while approaching what turned out to be the worker entrance at Paris Olympic Village, the new home of over 10,000 athletes, which opened to competitor residents on 18 July.

My missions du jour: Check out the guest pass process, and trade pins. 

There were lots of pins. 

After trading with several volunteers and Olympic Village workforce members during what seemed to be a shift change, I walked away the happy owner of several new items, including a heart-shaped International Olympic Committee pin given to volunteers earlier in the day, German and Brazil team pins and a few of the new U.S. half-dollar-sized Samsung Rendezvous pins. 

Upon arrival at the separate Village transportation area, with a much larger athlete presence, I wasted no time capturing the arrival of the Refugee Olympic Team bus, also speaking with several athletes (three pin exchanges). 

The vibe at the transport area among dozens of security, volunteers, NOC officials and athletes was a mix of glee, nervous anticipation (the good kind), a little stress (do I have all of my bags?) and a lot of smiles and hugs. 

When the Fiji Olympians arrived, it made me chuckle that each athlete brought their own case of water from their homeland sponsor (you know ... the expensive Fiji Water bottles like at Whole Foods Market). 

Other NOC interactions included Australia, Canada, St. Lucia, Liechtenstein, Argentina, Norway, France and, of course, Team USA, who had two full-time staffers on site awaiting a critical luggage and supply delivery truck. 

Another eager attendee was a photojournalist for Kyodo News, who was relieved to get his money shots of Team Japan disembarking from their bus as Paris 2024 volunteers helped load airport-style Village-branded luggage carts. 

Perhaps the best pin discoveries: Andorra has a really nice jumbo design, and the Peru Olympic Volunteers got creative with their oversized design, using a globe-spinning mascot image I almost picked for one of my Olympic Rings And Other Things pins. 

Never did find the guest pass area, but learned this morning it's just around the corner from the transport zone -- will endeavor to explore yet another Village entry in the days ahead.

Another curiosity of the Olympic Village was its proximity to dozens of neighboring apartment buildings. 

In the quiet times between pin trades, I spoke with several local residents who revealed a mix of good cheer to live so close to "the action" juxtaposed with "can't we just get this over with" sentiment (one resident was particularly cranky his carpark access had some hiccups). 

Looking forward to the next Village visit. Meanwhile, today's task: Paris Media Centre.

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver