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Team D Fan Zone at the Paris Olympic Games 2024

Florian Buechting Entertain & Relax, Sports Reviews No Comments

Paris 2024 Team D Fan Zone

20 EUR
Paris 2024 Team D Fan Zone
3.4

Rating

 3.4/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Remarkable effort
  • Nice potential to hang out and have fun
  • Nice setting within a rugby stadium

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Prices too high (Admission / Food)
  • Ridiculous "safety" / access rules, way over the Olympic Games standard
  • Location within the city at most average

The German Olympic Sports Confederation (Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund) hired a complete stadium for their events during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Apart from the traditional Deutsches Haus (“German House”), their key hospitality zone, they use the inside of Stade Jean Bouin to host a Fan Zone. This is rather unique, fans from several nations went there when my wife and I visited the place. Here is my review with some Pictured Story size impressions, based on a visit on 26th July 2024 (the day of the Olympic Opening Ceremony).

 

Stade Jean Bouin – Location & Access

The stadium is located right North of the Parc des Princes and next to the famous Roland Garros tennis grounds, which are both used for the Olympics. The 19,500 capacity venue is majorly used for rugby and American Football nowadays. However, the DOSB just uses the hospitality facilities for the Deutsches Haus and the pitch area of the venue. Admission to the Fan Zone is from the West. This may be confusing if you arrive by metro, as you first pass the Deutsches Haus entry, which is not signed as such. The easiest way to get to the fan zone is taking metro line 10 to Porte d’Auteuil (if you come from the city center) or Michel-Ange Molitor if you travel city-bound. Walking distance is some ten to fifteen minutes. There are also buses servicing the area in a closer distance.

Admission for the Team D Fan Zone is 20 Euro. If you book in advance, it is fixed to a certain date and solely allows a one-time admission. There are also a few concerts during the Olympics – admission is significantly higher at these days. Please note that the baggage and safety regulations are much stricter than at the Olympic Games themselves. The security, which is done by German Federal Police, does not even allow to bring sunblocker or any kind of drinks, which is fine at the Olympic venues. In general, security does cause longer waiting times. You should at least allow for 30 minutes waiting time to get in.

 

Team D Fan Zone – Atmosphere

It is a bit of weird that the “important people” watch the “lower class” from the balconies and stands of the hospitality area of the stadium. Nonetheless, the atmosphere of the fan zone is in fact really nice. It has a relaxed beer garden style atmosphere, with different huts and booths all around the ground. The key element is the central large main stage, though. The DOSB promised to have some host for the day – however, there was none available during my visit. This definitely decreased the mood in the stadium a bit, as well as the weather. Of course, the interior of Stade Jean Boulin is not at all weatherproof, neither against the sun nor against rain, which was more critical during my Friday visit.

The organizers really put some love into the fan zone, which also comes with some games like 3×3 basketball, standard table and small table table tennis or goal wall shooting with a soccer ball, a handball and a floorball (!), whose identity is raped by being hit with something like a field hockey stick. Overall, there is definitely a lot of potential to hang out and have fun. Unfortunately, there are just a few cultural events on main stage.

 

 

 

Team D Fan Zone – Food & Services

You saw some of the booths in the pictures above already. Majorly provided or presented by sponsors like a German grocery store chain, there are numerous options of food and drinks available. Apart from the most famous Mexican beer (there is also beer with alcohol available), most of the food somehow leans towards dishes you would eat in Germany as well. For example, thee are meatballs with potato salad, traditional rolled roast or the typical Currywurst (grilled sausage in tomato-curry sauce). The prices are at least not on the budget-friendly side. Especially if you bear in mind that you already paid quite a high admission to enter a wonderland full of sponsored attractions, it felt too much to me.

Of course, there is also merchandise. I was surprised that the sizes of the Team D (German Olympic Team) fan shirts are rather limited in sizes. There are also advertisement booths by two countries, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein, who partially also sell some local souvenirs. A very nice feature are the rather slim, but well-maintained toilets on the ground.

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Team D Fan Zone – My View

Especially if you made friends during previous Olympics and need a place to hang out, the German Olympic Sports Confederation definitely created a nice and cozy place. However, it does come with some downsides. For example the location is not ideal and needs a bit of traveling within the French capital. More than that, I do not see a balance between the admission fees and the prices within the venue. However the worst thing about the fan zone are the security rules. You just cannot expect that a visitor of the Olympic Games has a stop at his / her hotel, getting rid of things like water and sun blocker before / after visiting the fan zone. Rules should be in line with the Olympic sites, which are absolutely more modest in this regards. Thus, my overall review is limited.

 

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