Paris Olympics: 275,000 condoms to promote safe games
Organizers of the summer Olympic Games in Paris have prepared 275,000 condoms for the residents of the Olympic and Paralympic village. A video has gone viral on social media showing the "equipment" offered to the athletes and more. On Friday, the Olympic competitions officially begin.
The XXXIII Summer Olympic Games will commence on Friday, 26 July, in Paris. The event will last until 8 August, and up to 14,000 athletes and team officials are expected to appear in the capital of France. This also includes Paralympians and their coaches, but their competition will begin on 26 August.
Laurent Michaud, the director of the Olympic Village in Paris, reported the number of prepared condoms in an interview with Sky News. 275,000 condoms have been prepared, but it's worth noting that this is not an isolated case but a tradition.
They were first distributed during the summer games in Seoul in 1988, but their number was "only" 8,500.
Organizers primarily aim to promote awareness about preventing HIV infections. Since then, the number of condoms distributed at each Olympic event has increased. For example, in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, there were as many as 420,000, setting an absolute record. The exception was the games in Tokyo in 2021, as it was considered that due to the sanitary regime during the COVID-19 pandemic, close contact was limited.
A video is circulating on social media showing the condoms distributed to athletes in Paris. The purple packaging reads: "Don't share more than victory: Protect yourself against STDs." One package contains two condoms.
