The Summer Olympic Games this year are in Paris, France.
Paris does not have an ocean. So, how do organizers
plan to present competition in the sport of surfing?
They are taking that Olympic event to the South
Pacific country of French Polynesia. The athletes will compete on the island of
Tahiti, in a small coastal village called Teahupo’o. The area is rural. It did
not even have a road until the 1970s.
Hundreds of people are expected to visit Teahupo’o
to watch the sport, from July 27 to August 4.
The place has a special energy, a feeling known as “mana” in the local language. And the people who live there want that special quality protected. There are concerns that a week of Olympic competition in Teahupo’o could destroy the “mana” and harm the environment that surrounds it.
Proposed preparations for the event included building temporary housing, roads, and even a large structure out on the water. Opposition to the plans quickly grew. Environmentalists, locals and surfers joined forces to protect Teahupo’o’s culture, its corals and other sea life.
The group told the Olympic organizers they did not want new buildings or roads. And organizers are adjusting their plans as a result. For example, they will not be building any Olympic housing. Instead, athletes will stay on a nearby boat.
In December a boat working on some Olympic construction hit a piece of the reef and broke it. Since the incident the relationship between the organizers and locals has improved. The Olympic group is moving slowly and asking for more input from the local groups.
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Article adapted from VOA News
