Paris 2024: the challenge of La Défense Arena to transform into an Olympic swimming pool in just 25 days
After Taylor Swift’s four event concerts, the venue is engaged in a race against time. And it is first of all a headache for the manufacturer of the pools, Myrtha Pools, a world leader in the sector used to building swimming pools for the Olympic Games (the first time was in Atlanta in 1996). Except that this time, the calendar constraints are very strong.
“Normal when we build two 50 m pools for a community is between four and five months of work. There, we have 25 days, says Alexandre Gandoin, the sales director in France of the Italian brand. In a so-called ‘normal’ construction site, we have teams of five to seven technicians. For this one, we take 27 technicians on average per day who will work in 2×8 hours.”
The other constraint is logistical: the Myrtha Pools factory is located in Northern Italy. It takes 24 trucks to transport the spare parts for the basins – white stainless steel plates, which will be assembled on site – and nine trucks for the rest of the materials, for the foundations and water heating. “We rented a logistics platform around ten kilometers from the Arena, continues Alexandre Gandoin. All supply is done with small 6 meter trucks to avoid arriving with 38 ton trucks. It would have been complex, if not impossible.”
Tests were carried out to find out if the floor of the performance hall can support the weight of two basins filled with water. It will also be necessary to create a new stand for the press, because this is a first for La Défense Arena, which usually hosts concerts and rugby matches.
Initially, it was to host the gymnastics competitions during the Games before being offered the racing swimming events. “Whether it’s for Taylor Swift or the Olympics, it will give us even more credibility and establish the venue even more internationally”welcomes its vice-president Bathilde Lorenzetti.
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