CNN
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The Olympics will be packed with iconic imagery of Parisian landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, Pont Alexandre III and Les Invalides, which are all set to take centre stage.
But one of the quadrennial tournament's greatest settings isn't in Paris — in fact, it's not even in France — it's not even in the same hemisphere.
The world-famous waves off the coast of Te Aupō, Tahiti, are set to be one of the most scenic and unique locations for the upcoming tournament when surfing competitions begin on the island on July 27.
The inclusion of Tahiti fulfills one of the promises made by Paris organizers, who promised to spread the Olympic Games to all of France. Tahiti became a French colony in 1880 and is now classified as an autonomous overseas territory of the French Republic.
With other cities across France hosting high-profile competitions such as football and basketball, the choice to host the surfing competition on French Polynesia's largest island has made it one of the most unique and controversial venues of the Olympics.
But the swells off Tahiti's southwest coast have long been part of the surfing competition circuit and are well known in the surfing world.
Located about 9,700 miles from Paris and a 21-hour flight, Choupo will be one of the most remote host cities in Olympic history.
“This is a magical place and the waves at Te Aupō are breathtaking,” Tony Estenguett, president of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, said after visiting the Games site in 2022. “Our vision has always been to offer the most amazing conditions for surfers and surf sport and I have no doubt that Tahiti will realise that vision.”
Choupo was ranked third in CNN's Top 50 Surfing Spots in the World in 2013 and is known for its short, intense waves that create great waves perfect for surfing. The name means “head wall” and can be dangerous.
The location of the Olympic Games has long been on the global surfing circuit, so wooden towers have been erected for the events in an offshore lagoon.
The judging tower, and the decision that it did not meet safety standards for Olympic sport, particularly for umpiring and broadcasting, has sparked controversy in Tahiti and the surfing community.
Olympic organizers instead built an aluminum tower in the lagoon, which came under scrutiny in the run up to the Games.
The Paris 2024 team had originally proposed building a 14-tonne, 150-square-metre tower that could house 40 people and have drinking water and wastewater connections, but announced last year it was scaling back the project after backlash.
“The current judging tower does not meet current safety standards and will no longer be used and must be replaced if Te Aupo is to continue hosting surfing competitions, whether Olympic or other competitions,” organizers said in a November news release.
“The second issue is that the tower must be able to guarantee good conditions for judging the competition, in particular providing the umpires with a full view of the waves.”
With global warming already damaging coral reefs around the world, plans for a new aluminium tower have been criticised for potentially damaging delicate coral reefs off the coast of Te Aupō.
A video posted by Save Teahupo'o Reef last year showed a barge being used to build the towers getting stuck on the reef and breaking off coral.
The tower has been slammed by some critics as a symbol of colonialism, and organisers have been accused of not living up to claims that the games will be sustainable and environmentally friendly.
Alexandra Dempsey, a coral reef ecologist and CEO of the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, said the towers could damage the coral formations that make Tahiti an ideal place for professional surfing.
“Local communities have a very passionate and cultural connection to the ocean, and particularly the coral reef systems that drive the waves in that area, and the perfect waves are a natural effect of how the reefs have formed naturally over millions of years,” she told CNN.
“Not only would it damage the reef ecosystem, it would also destroy the structures that were there and create the amazing waves that were there for which that location was chosen. And we don't really know what the consequences or impacts will be of damaging the reef system there,” she added.
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According to the Tahiti Tourism Board, French Polynesia is home to more than 1,000 species of fish and 150 species of coral, the latter of which is a highly protected species threatened by climate change and the effects of mass tourism.
The Paris 2024 committee said in a November news release that it had considered other options, including strengthening the foundations of the current tower, certifying that the existing tower and existing foundations are safe, building a new wooden tower or having judges judge the competition from shore or boats.
All these options were ruled out and the decision was made to build a slimmer version of the new aluminum tower.
“Protecting Te Aupo's natural environment has always been a priority in the conception of any possible solutions for the site,” the news release said.
“All development plans for Teowpo are being reviewed to minimise their impact on the environment. This has been the aim of all studies carried out with a view to hosting the Olympic Games, and in particular the environmental support mission during the design and construction phase of the new tower.”
“The new tower will be less intimidating, reduced in size and weight and will sit on a new permanent foundation, extending the tower's lifespan and providing a solution that will ensure Te Aupō can host sporting events into the future,” organisers added.
“The tower and new foundations will be able to undergo the 10-year certification required for insurance purposes.”
The decision angered activists and drew condemnation from surfing's world governing body, the International Surfing Association.
The new nine-tonne, 50-square-metre, three-storey tower is currently in place in the ocean off the coast of Chaupo and, as Surfer magazine reported in April, is in an area where it is unlikely to have any direct impact on the coral, although its long-term impacts are yet to be seen.
“The area where the tower is being built has very little coral – just a flat shelf with a spread of small coral heads and a few large rocks covered in coral,” Tahiti-based photographer Tim McKenna wrote in an Instagram post showing the site after the new tower was built.
“Over the years, the coral has even covered the former concrete tower substructure.”
He added: “The new tower is not just for the Olympics. It is a collapsible tower that will be erected every year during the Games.”
“The aluminium structure, designed and manufactured exclusively in Tahiti, has finally been certified for insurance and safety reasons. This is an investment made by the Government of Tahiti to host surfing events in Te Aupō for the next 20 years.”
