Let's Break Down All the Rules Athletes Have to Follow in the Olympic Village, Shall We? (2025)

Participating in the Olympic Games is a massive honor for the athletes competing in their respective sports—especially because they get to travel to gorgeous countries all over the world for the sporting event. They usually post up in the Olympic Village when they touch down in the host country. For the 2024 Summer Olympics, more than 14,250 athletes (!) will stay at the Village, which spans three cities: Saint-Denis, Saint Ouen, and L'Île-Saint-Denis. They won't be too far from the action, either—according to Olympic officials, "Aside from those training at their competition venues, 100% of the athletes will train within 20 minutes from the Village, and 60% of those will train within the Village itself. 85% of athletes will be accommodated less than 30 minutes away from their competition venue." Plus, shuttle buses and e-bikes will be available for travel around the Village.

However! There are a ton of rules that athletes have to follow while they stay in the Village—which, according to several athletes, is more like a college dorm and less like a chic hotel. They share rooms, common areas, and bathrooms and are grouped by sport despite their age differences. You may be asking, who even sets these rules in the first place? And why do they lean more on the strict side? Well, The International Olympic Committee, or the IOC, puts most of these rules in place so athletes can stay at the top of their game during this really exciting time. Ahead, find all the rules athletes have to follow in the Olympic Village.

So, who can stay in the Olympic Village?

Great Q! Technically, only athletes competing in the games are allowed to stay in the Olympic Village—but they can bring their coaches and sport specific team officials around if needed.

Athletes and sport-specific team officials must arrive 5 days early

Yep. According to the IOC during the 2020 Tokyo Games, training venues were only available five days before each event, which is why athletes and sport-specific team officials are instructed to arrive at that time. If they show up more than a week before the start of their discipline/sport, they'll be denied entry into the Village unless an exception has been made. 😬

They can only leave the Village within 48 hours after their last competition

Oh, yeah, and they reportedly can't stay in the Village more than 2 days after they wrap up their competition or when they're eliminated. Their Olympic Identity and Accreditation Card, which grants them access to the building, will be deactivated within that time frame, per the Period of Stay Guidelines.

Protests and political, religious, or racial propaganda are not allowed

Yeah... this rule was put into place ahead of the 2020 competition amid Black Lives Matter and Anti-AAPI Hate protests that were happening at the time. It's faced significant pushback since then, but in a nutshell, athletes aren't allowed to protest or push any political, religious, or racial propaganda at all Olympic venues, including:

  • On the field of play
  • In the Olympic Village
  • During Olympic medal ceremonies
  • During the Opening, Closing, and other official Ceremonies

Any protests that happen outside Olympic venues must comply with local laws.

They can *technically* post on social media from the Village

The IOC encourages all athletes to share their experience at the Games with others through their personal social media accounts and websites... but they have to follow specific guidelines, ofc. First things first, athletes can take photos and record audio and videos within the Olympic Village, except for restricted areas like medical spots or doping control stations. They're also required to respect the privacy of others and are not allowed to capture content of other residents unless they have their consent beforehand.

Obviously, their posts have to be consistent with the Olympic values, meaning they can't be discriminatory or obscene. Posts aren't permitted for sharing if they are:

  • Commercial
  • Captured in medical areas
  • Uses AI or AI-generated content or outputs
  • Live videos or longer than 2 minutes each

Drinking alcohol and partying is also prohibited...

...But that doesn't mean the athletes aren't encouraged to celebrate. Laurent Michaud, director of the Village for the 2024 Paris Games, told Sky News that there will be an Olympic Village sports bar for the athletes to hang out at in between tournaments—without alcohol. "It's going to be a great place so they can share their moment and the environment here," he said, "No champagne in the village, of course, but they can have all the champagne they want to in Paris."

Generally, athletes aren't allowed to party, smoke, or drink alcohol on Olympic Village premises. "Staying longer in the village increases the potential for problems," John Coates, the IOC member who was in charge of overseeing Tokyo preparations, said at a briefing for the Olympics and Paralympics in 2020 per USA Today.

Let's Break Down All the Rules Athletes Have to Follow in the Olympic Village, Shall We? (4)

It also seems that the anti-partying rules have even been extended to the general public at the 2024 Paris Games because multiple reports have revealed that alcohol will not be provided unless you're in VIP. Under Evin's Law (which has been in place since 1991, BTW) alcohol is banned from sale to the general public inside stadiums in France, and a Paris 2024 spokesperson told Reuters that this year's organizers didn't seek an exemption to the rule. The more you know!

Let's talk about that intimacy ban, too

It's officially been lifted for this year's games, meaning that the athletes can (and will!) match each others' freaks. Per CBS News, it was originally put in place during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to promote social distancing and COVID-19 safety measures. At the time, athletes were reportedly asked to limit physical contact with each other. Laurent Michaud revealed that the Village will hold about 14,250 residents at the 2024 Paris Games and they're "aiming to have 300,000 condoms for the athletes." However, the 2016 Rio Games passed out 150,000 more condoms where that came from, making it a total of 450,000. 👀

Let's Break Down All the Rules Athletes Have to Follow in the Olympic Village, Shall We? (5)

"Everyone talks about how there are so many condoms for each athlete, but they don’t just give them to you," Swiss swimmer Alexandre Haldemann told USA Today during the 2016 Rio Games. "You have to go and get them yourself, and you can take as many as you want." Int-er-est-ing!

Let's Break Down All the Rules Athletes Have to Follow in the Olympic Village, Shall We? (2025)

FAQs

Are all athletes required to stay in the Olympic Village? ›

Olympic competitors are not required to stay in the village. Michael Jordan and other members of the 1992 Dream Team — the first U.S. Olympic basketball squad featuring professional players — set up shop at the Ambassador Hotel during the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Spain, for example.

Are Olympic athletes allowed to leave the village? ›

And one of the biggest ones is that you cannot under any circumstance leave the Olympic Village without permission, which Brazilian swimmer Ana Vieira found out the hard way (we'll get to that in a minute).

How long can athletes stay in the Olympic Village? ›

Increasingly, they fly in as late as possible so as to prepare properly, and they then have to clear out of the village 24 to 48 hours after they have finished their competition. It makes for a good story though.

Do you have to stay in the Olympic Village? ›

Do athletes have to stay there? The Village exists to house only athletes, who typically have to arrive five days before the Games start and leave two days after the end of their sport or if they're eliminated.

Did Simone Biles stay at the Olympic Village? ›

However, her stay in the Olympic Village has been far from perfect, as Biles recently revealed a startling confession for why she doesn't go to the village cafeteria. In a TikTok video, Biles said she was mobbed for photos during her first day in the village, which in turn caused her anxiety to spiral out of control.

Do coaches stay in the Olympic Village? ›

After the Munich massacre at the 1972 Olympics, the Villages have been made extremely secure. Only athletes, trainers and officials are allowed to room at the Village, though family members and former Olympic athletes are allowed inside with proper checks.

What do they do with Olympic Village after? ›

After the Games: The new apartments and houses were sold or rented, transforming the Olympic Village into a residential area for over 5,000 people. Some modular units were repurposed into schools and nurseries to accommodate the needs of the new community.

Do NBA players stay in Olympic Village? ›

stars typically don't stay at the Olympic Village: As once raised by NBC Sports, the basketball pros are just too tall for the provided beds, which in 2016 were reported to be 5'8” long.

Do minors stay in the Olympic Village? ›

Athletes aged under 18 are allowed to stay at the Olympic Village, home to around 10,000 competitors across the Games, situated in the Saint-Denis area of northern Paris, near the Stade de France. However, whether they actually do so is down to each individual country.

Do athletes have roommates in the Olympic Village? ›

Each sports team decides an athlete's roommate

Balconies on a block of athletes' accommodation in the Olympic Village for the 2024 Paris Games. When it comes to roommates in the Olympic Village, Smith says "the sports make that decision."

Are Olympians allowed to leave the Olympic Village? ›

strict to say the least. And one of the biggest ones is that you cannot under any circumstance leave the Olympic Village without permission, which Brazilian swimmer Ana Vieira found out the hard way (we'll get to that in a minute).

Why is there no black Olympic swimmers? ›

For example, all require expensive facilities, considerable time, and adequate financial resources. Demographics would suggest that in most societies, particularly less developed ones, blacks are disproportionately represented in groups not meeting the above criteria.

Who pays Olympic swimmers? ›

The $250,000 pot means each of its 48 swimmers will collect $5,208. That's in addition to payments from the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee of $37,500, $22,500 and $15,000 for each gold, silver and bronze medal won, respectively.

Do footballers stay in the Olympic Village? ›

During the two weeks of the Games, the athletes live in the Olympic Village. This is a residential complex, generally located close to the Olympic stadium, where the world's athletes in all the Olympic sports live together.

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