Here’s an artist’s rendering of Tokyo’s proposed surfing venue for 2020. Paris and Los Angeles have yet to address where surfing would take place when they host the 2024 and 2028 Games respectively. Photo: Tokyo 2020
Speculation about the future host cities of the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympic Games was confirmed Monday after the city of Los Angeles conceded the 2024 Games to Paris. In exchange, the International Olympic Committee reached a deal with LA giving the City of Angels the opportunity to host the Games in 2028.
The unofficial announcement comes, of course, nearly a year to the day since the IOC announced surfing would be included in the 2020 Games in Tokyo.
The bidding process began back in 2015, before surfing, skateboarding, and climbing’s inclusion. So it’s understandable that the official bids of both cities would not make any mention of the recently included sports. Not to mention the future of these new additions is uncertain and entirely dependent upon their inaugural showing in Tokyo.
Still, for surfing, in particular, it’s worth noting that Paris’ official Olympic bid proposes venues at only two coastal cities – Marseille and Nice – to serve as competition sites for a number of aquatic events, like sailing. And neither city is known for surf.
The French cities of Bordeaux and Nantes – which are in closer proximity to better waves – will host Olympic soccer, but nothing else.
So, short of a wave pool adjacent the Champs-Élysées, where geographically will surfing be accommodated?
For an ocean-based Olympic surfing event in 2024, it seems there are two options: 1) Wave quality is prioritized and surfing takes place at its own, unique location, or 2) Surfing takes place at one of the coastal venues mentioned above in low-quality surf.
The latter would certainly kill surfing’s Olympic future leaving the former as the only viable option.
But back to wave pools.
ISA President Fernando Aguerre told us in an interview last year that surfing would not take place in a wave pool in 2020. Reason being, the IOC was cautious about green lighting a technology that hadn’t been proven in a major competition.
In seven years, though, it’s likely wave pools will have overcome that challenge. In other words, it’s within the realm of possibility that surfing’s second showing in the Olympics – initially criticized as a soulless bastardization of the sport – could take place in an artificial wave – also criticized as a soulless bastardization of the sport.
There may be a way to go until 2024, but in light of the announcement, it’s a safe bet competing wave pool companies are racing to submit plans to build pools of their own in France. That is if they haven’t already.
