The Australia Olympic Team “cannot be missed” in the Athletes’ Village with Chef de Mission Anna Meares claiming their new home to be one of the most patriotic and picturesque of all nations.
Fronting the media for the first time since arriving in Paris, the four-time Olympic cyclist has applauded the work of team operations for the exceptional environment provided for the athletes.
The Australian Team will take up residence in the purpose-built Athletes’ Village, 7km north from the centre of Paris, throughout the Games.
The windows of the lower floors sport images of some of our nation’s most notorious landscapes including Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef, while banners reading: Australia, Merci Paris and Allez Aus, don the upper balconies.
“I'm not biased but I think the Australian allotment is the prettiest building and most decorated building of all of them within the village,” Anna said.
“We've got some really great decals from Uluru on our windows to the Great Barrier Reef to the Boxing Kangaroo.
“Of course, we have our Australian flag, our Indigenous flag and Torres Strait Islander flag as well.
“We are ones that cannot be missed on the street that we are occupying.”
The bump-in of the Australian team’s headquarters is the culmination of extensive planning to ensure the best environment for the athletes during competition.
The 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, Harvey Norman lounge space, recovery spaces and a gym.
Athletes begin to arrive in the village on Thursday led by the men’s sevens rugby team, the Hockeyroos and the Kookaburras.
“The plans that have been on paper come into fruition now,” Anna said.
“We have decals all along our windows, so we don't have clear glass windows.
“When the sun comes through as it's setting on the western side, it's really beautiful on the inside; the light colours change.
“We have a lot of people coming by and taking photos of the Australian allotment, that's for sure. We're very proud to see them out there enjoying it.”
Australia's nearest neighbours in the Athletes’ Village are from the Pacific Nations and Oceania region including Fiji, Samoa and Marshall Islands.
Anna said the team was proud to support and share resources with these teams from Oceania.
