HISTORY: Athletes in the Paris 2024 Olympic Village reflected on the memories they had Friday as the global sporting event drew to a close.

“The experience is truly incredible. The atmosphere in the village is so beautiful…”

“It was like it was really epic.”

“It was so beautiful and huge and the surroundings were crazy and incredible.”

One could see the athletes leaving the complex one by one, only a few leaving with medals.

For US discus thrower Joseph Brown, the opening ceremony – during which the parade of nations took place by boat on the Seine – was a highlight.

“The whole boat ride and then the company of everyone and then walking to the actual venue and then just that atmosphere with the whole light show and all the athletes and then the Eiffel Tower in the background, with the rain. It was like it was really epic. It was like an epic moment with everything that was happening.”

For many Parisians, however, this experience was accompanied by mixed feelings.

Here in the suburb of Saint-Denis, residents said they appreciated the atmosphere and improved public safety.

However, there were also considerable inconveniences.

Mohammed Ydriss Smaali is a resident of Saint-Denis.

“It was working around the clock. You couldn’t rest during the day, in the evening, at 2, 3, 4 in the morning, basically all night long… Now, since it started, it’s even worse with all the police patrols you see everywhere here. They’re very annoying.”

For example, residents on the outskirts of the Olympic Village had to undergo numerous checks every day when they wanted to enter or leave their homes.

High school student and local resident Enda Fofana endured four years of construction work opposite her home.

She said she had hoped for a free ticket to events as compensation, but none came.

“I was expecting to get tickets, especially for gymnastics, because I really like that. But I felt like we were a bit forgotten and didn’t get anything in return.”

Amine Ben Dziri, who was able to attend publicly accessible sports workshops with his daughter thanks to the Olympic investments, took a more pragmatic view of the chaos.

“That’s because they want to convey a successful image of the Olympics. They see it as their duty to do all that, to invest, to make efforts and all that. Of course we enjoy it. That’s good, thank you, thank you for the Olympics, we enjoyed it. But I don’t think it will be the same afterwards, that’s for sure.”