Teahupoo is a beautiful place, at least for those who like tropical South Sea flair. The fishing village is located on the island of Tahiti at the southwestern tip of the Tahiti Iti volcano, scattered houses adorn the narrow plain, on the sides of which lush vegetation stretches up the green hills. The village is still poorly developed, but at the same time it has been a place of longing for decades, albeit more for surfers than tourists. One of the most spectacular waves in the world towers in front of the reef in the Pacific.
Surfing magazines report that it is powerful and hollow, and the reef beneath it extends up to 50 centimeters below the surface of the water. That is why it is considered particularly challenging and dangerous. In 2011, for example, the wave threw the American professional surfer Keala Kennelly onto the sharp coral, leaving her with severe facial injuries. It’s a love-hate relationship that many professionals share with Teahupoo.
At the upcoming Summer Games, the surfing competitions are scheduled to take place in Teahupoo at the end of July 2024 – around 15,700 kilometers from the actual Olympic venue in Paris. Tahiti is part of French Polynesia, the planners did not want to neglect the overseas territories, and because there is this wave there, they included Tahiti in their concept.
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Only when diving do you see how close the reef is to the surface of the water.
(Foto: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
But they hadn’t expected a completely different wave that has been building up in Teahupoo over the past few weeks and is now spilling over to Paris. Almost ten months before the start of the surfing competitions, the planned construction of an aluminum tower for judges, trainers and photographers is heating up people’s minds. Many Tahiti residents, environmentalists and local surfers are now protesting against the 14-meter-high tower, which costs almost five million euros and is intended to replace the old wooden structure.
This had already fallen over several times in the high waves. The planners and the IOC absolutely want to avoid such a scenario; their interest lies more in adding a bit of a South Seas atmosphere to the metropolitan games in Paris. Air-conditioned technical rooms will also be set up on the three floors, with an internet server and power supply via a submarine cable, as well as a toilet and drainage system. The concrete base would have to be anchored in the coral reef.
There is a threat of algae infestation, poisoned fish and perhaps the end of the giant wave
In the past three weeks, more than 150,000 people have signed a petition against the tower’s construction. Hundreds met near Teahupoo at the end of October for a peaceful protest march, farmers, fishermen, surfers, young, old, they held up posters that read: “Land of the Gods” – and not of the IOC. One of the people who ran there with a bare torso and a bamboo chain around his neck is top local surfer Matahi Drollet, 26, who is now becoming a face of the resistance movement. “This new construction will destroy a large part of the reef,” says Drollet on Instagram, who, like many others, warns of unforeseeable consequences for the ecosystem in the lagoon. For example, algae infestation as a result of construction work could lead to the spread of ciguatera, a form of fish poisoning that would threaten the existence of residents who make their living primarily from fishing. In the worst case, says Drollet, the wave will change as a result of construction or it will disappear completely over the years.
Is it worth it to stomp a monster made of aluminum and concrete into the sea for a four-day Olympic competition? asks Drollet rhetorically. The wooden structure ultimately served for 15 years in international competitions such as the World Surf League. “The ocean and the lagoon are the most precious place we have here. They give us food, here we play, here we have the best wave in the world. It is a legacy of our ancestors that we must preserve. That is why our association against this new tower.”
Of course, this is also about the big picture, about self-determination and dependency. Tahiti, long undiscovered and later colonized by France, has been floating between these two poles for centuries. The Europeans evangelized and brought diseases to the island, whose population was massively decimated. There have been repeated protests against the French administration in the recent past, with young people complaining about a lack of prospects. The subjugation has burned itself into the people, and the recent protests can therefore – in addition to all other reasons – also be understood as rebellion against the authorities.
The IOC spokesman says they want to preserve, respect and enhance the location for the games
Recently, the President of French Polynesia, Moetai Brotherson, visited the nearby village of Toahutu because of the protests – it is not entirely impossible that the IOC encouraged him to do so. Because it was more of a reassurance visit with the tenor that nature would recover again. After the protests, he now rowed back and confirmed to the AFP news agency that he was considering moving the surfing competitions to another location in Tahiti for environmental reasons. To be more precise, to Taharuu. “This is a seaside resort with all the necessary infrastructure. If we had decided on this in the original planning, we could have avoided a whole series of problems,” said Brotherson. There is also a supermarket there. But not the wave from Teahupoo.
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Surreal beauty: Jet skis are waiting in front of the green slopes of Tahiti to take surfers into the high waves. A new tower is now to be built for Olympia near the coast.
(Photo: Jerome Brouillet/AFP)
With his latest statement, the president is likely to score points with the protest movement, but certainly not with the IOC or with the Olympic planners in faraway France. In any case, when asked by SZ, a spokesman for the organizing committee for Paris 2024 said that “Tahiti was chosen because of the location of Teahupoo and its legendary wave”: “We are examining all possible scenarios so that the surfing competitions can take place at this location, which we for the games we want to preserve, respect and enhance.” They want to offer a competition that respects the environment, where the games adapt to Teahupoo and not the other way around. And: The dialogue and work with environmental associations and residents would continue.
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Tower of Offense: The tried and tested wooden construction in Teahupoo.
(Photo: Jerome Brouillet/AFP)
Sustainability is actually a leitmotif of the 2024 Games. On the other hand, we have heard such statements from Olympic planners very often. And afterwards, like after Rio 2016, the sports facilities and athletes’ residential towers fall into disrepair again.
“We will definitely not allow them to destroy this place,” says Matahi Drollet. He loves his wave, which he knows like no other. And he sounds very combative.
