Smaller surfing tower for Tahiti site, say Paris 2024 organisers

PARIS – Paris 2024 organisers have switched plans for the installation of an aluminium tower on Tahiti’s Teahupo’o site for the Olympic surfing competition,

following local opposition

as residents claimed the planned construction would damage the coral reef.

The idyllic lagoon-side village has long hosted some of the best events on the professional World Surf League’s (WSL) championship tour, using a modest wooden tower for judges on the reef which is dismantled after every event.

Paris 2024, which has highlighted its ambition to minimise the environmental impact of the Games, was planning to spend nearly US$5 million (S$6.7 million) to build a much larger tower with toilets, air-conditioning and space for 40 people which it says is needed to meet safety standards.

But an online petition calling for the scrapping of plans for the 14m aluminium scaffolding and 800m service channel through the reef had gathered more than 160,000 signatures.

A new tower will be smaller and lighter in order to minimise the impact on the environment. Essentially, it would reduce the depth of drilling.

“Based on thorough analysis of the different options and the priorities shared by the various stakeholders, the project for a new tower that is less imposing and substantially reduced in size and weight was judged to be the best option,” Paris 2024 said in a joint statement with the French Polynesia government and the Haut Commissariat (French state representation in Polynesia) on Nov 17.

“This presents the advantage of being able to reduce the depth of drilling for the foundations of the tower and allow the use of a barge with a shallower draught during the construction phase.”

The tower will weigh nine tonnes instead of the planned 14 tonnes and will be 150 sq m – compared to the planned 200 sq m.

French Polynesia President Moetai Brotherson had suggested last week that the surfing events for the Summer Games could be moved to Taharuu, on Tahiti’s south-west coast.

Sticking to Teahupo’o, however, the organisers have also promised to work with local experts to minimise the risk to corals. Some coral reefs would be moved for their protection during the construction work, they said.

“Work to lighten the tower will make it possible to reduce the depth of drilling for the foundations. A new, smaller motorised barge, with a shallow draught (20cm), will be used to transport the equipment and guarantee easier access to the lagoon, without any risk of damage to the coral,” the joint statement added.

“The (local) associations will shortly be invited to come and check this route during an in situ test with the new barge, loaded with drilling equipment.”

Surfing made its bow as an Olympic sport at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games, when it was held on Tsurigasaki Beach on Honshu island, and France was keen to keep it on the roster.

When Tahiti – some 15,000km from Paris – was selected as the surfing site, dignitaries in coastal resorts in mainland France were unimpressed, not least because of the cost and the carbon emissions involved in putting a chunk of the Olympics in the South Pacific.
REUTERS, AFP