“It’s the experience of a lifetime”: a volunteer from Bagnolse at the 2024 Paris Olympics tells us

Marine Berthomieu is in charge of welcoming spectators at the Paris Nord Arena in Villepinte. M. B.

Dans la Paris Nord Arena, elle a pu croiser Tony Yoka ou encore Brahim Asloum, tous deux champions olympique. M. B.

Marine Berthomieu grew up in Bagnols-sur-Cèze. She is a volunteer for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and is in charge of welcoming spectators who are “excited” by the event, making it a unique moment of conviviality and inclusiveness.

“I was about to get on the train to Bagnols when I got the answer.” At the end of June, Marine Berthomieu from Bagnols received confirmation that she would indeed be a volunteer at the 2024 Paris Olympics. One year after registering.

Since July 27, she has been in charge of welcoming and accompanying spectators“from the RER station to their headquarters”, at the Arena Paris Nord in Villepinte. Which hosts the preliminary boxing and fencing events of the modern pentathlon starting August 8: “I was afraid I would be bored because I am not a big boxing fan, but in the end I didn't see the time go by! The atmosphere is crazy."

A success from start to finish

She keeps repeating it, "everything is going wonderfully well". A surge of good humor and solidarity has taken over the capital and the public : “We receive a lot of compliments for the organization. Everything is super well organized, from transportation to reception. You can feel that people are happy.”

Same tune with the volunteers: “Everything is done so that we get closer, that we exchange. They talked about inclusive games, it really is the case! Everyone is represented, there are very young people, retirees. In total, they come from around fifty countries."

These Olympic Games are also an opportunity for great stories, like this Canadian, a volunteer at every edition of the Olympic Games since the 1970s.

Training and housing

The volunteers had access to online training on "first aid, how to react to a sexual assault, respect for the environment". Then, three days before the start of the competition, they were treated to a half-day dress rehearsal: “That allowed us to really get into it, and to know exactly what our role was. It was also an opportunity to see the Arena, which was still under construction three days before the event.”

The only thing to worry about before the Games was accommodation. On this side too, Marine Berthomieu has nothing to say: “I live in the Paris region so it's not a problem, but I haven't had any negative feedback for the other volunteers. Everyone managed to get by: sleeping at friends' or family's houses." Some large corporate partners of the Games even pay the hotel costs of their employees who come to help at the Games.

The 37-year-old from Bagnols hopes that this wave of solidarity will continue after the events in the "City of Light".

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