Paris prepares for Olympic romance with 220,000 free condoms

Organisers of the Paris Olympics are to distribute more than 200,000 condoms to athletes in the Olympic Village. Organisers said the move comes amid a rise in sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Health authorities have warned that sexually transmitted diseases are rising in France ahead of the Olympics. © Lou BENOIST / AFP

Some 200,000 male condoms and 20,000 female condoms (dental dams) will be distributed to prevent STIs during the Paris Games, which run from 26 July to 11 August.

"We're observing an increase in the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections in the population, regardless of the Olympics," said Laurent Dalard, who is responsible for coordinating first aid and health risks for the Paris Olympics organising committee.

"We don't know how many people are likely to use them and obviously we'll adapt to the requirements if needed."

Around 14,500 athletes and their teams are expected in July at the Olympic Village, located in Saint-Denis, north of Paris.

Leaflets will be handed out, and posters will be put up in the village's polyclinic to raise awareness among athletes. HIV testing plans will also be available.

The beds at the Paris Games however might be a passion killer, given that they are all singles, made of cardboard, and are usually two to a room.

No alcohol will be served.

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Olympics tradition

A few thousand condoms were first distributed for free to athletes at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 to encourage safe sex and raise awareness about the HIV-Aids epidemic sweeping the world at the time.

Since then, it has become a tradition for each event, stoking the idea that the village is a hotbed of high-performance promiscuity.

A staff member carrying condoms at the Rio Olympics in 2016 which set a record for free contraceptives © YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP

The number of condoms distributed has increased dramatically over the decades, rising to 50,000 at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, 100,000 in Beijing in 2008, and 150,000 in London in 2012.

The Rio Games in 2016 were dubbed the raunchiest yet, with a massive 450,000 handed out, the equivalent of 42 for each athlete.

The European Union's health agency warned on 7 March about a "troubling" surge in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) across the continent over the previous year.

In 2022, gonorrhoea cases in the EU rose by 48 percent, syphilis was up 34 and chlamydia 16 percent, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

(with AFP)