Paris 2024 Olympic Games: a revamped and “made in France” sailor top, here is the outfit of the 45,000 volunteers

They will be, as Tony Estanguet, the president of the organizing committee, regularly emphasizes, “the face, the soul, the heart and the smile of our Games. » The 45,000 volunteers who will officiate at the Olympic and/or Paralympic Games next summer were gathered on Saturday at La Défense Aréna. A convention which allowed them to take the pulse, to get to know the world of the 2024 Games (the major markers of the Games were explained to them) and to discover the outfit they will wear. This is the result of a collaboration between the designers of Paris 2024 and Decathlon, with a reflection around eco-design, made in France and meaning.

A sailor top with a Games look

“The volunteers’ uniform is a source of pride and a strong symbol of belonging,” says Joachim Roncin, Artistic Director at Paris 2024. “We wanted a unique outfit. So we dug into the past to find out which uniforms represented France. Very quickly, we arrived at the sailor top, which was the basis of the creation. We didn’t want it to be classic, we modernized it in order to tell our story. »

This turquoise sailor top is the central element of the volunteers’ kit, which includes 15 pieces. It has Paris 2024 flocked on the back and has three-quarter length sleeves. “We are proud of the result because we are giving a nod to France and its history by drawing inspiration from the codes of the sailor’s shirt, while associating it with the codes of today’s sport,” says Philippe Daguillon, artistic director of Decathlon. The turquoise green pants (84% recycled polyamide, transform into shorts, so that the outfit easily adapts to the atmospheric conditions.

Same for the jacket, light gray with pink zips, which transforms into a vest. Volunteers will also have a pair of shoes, a fanny pack (with pockets to store personal belongings and a net that can hold a water bottle) and a pink and pink bucket hat, made from UPF50+ fabric to protect themselves from the rays. of the sun.

T-shirts and socks 100% made in France

“We worked on the use of the outfit, depending on the constraints of the volunteers, but also on the eco-design part,” explains Virginie Sainte-Rose, director of the Paris 2024 partnership at Décathlon. The brand, which has just made a strategic change, notably by adopting a new logo, wanted to work with suppliers in France. Fil Rouge, a Marseille-based company in the social and solidarity economy, which had experienced initial growth with the manufacture of masks during Covid, will produce 103,000 of the 250,000 t-shirts.

“We were watching the Games from a long way away and the idea was not even possible. Decathlon called us in July 2022, telling us, we have a project, we would like to talk to you,” explains Jean-François Aufort, president and CEO. Fil rouge, which today has between 200 and 250 employees (compared to 40 5 years ago), is riding the wave of reindustrialization. “We are in the learning phase to become a real factory. The Games are a catalyst, the element that allows us to accelerate,” continues the CEO, whose company also manufactures some of the OM jerseys.

“It’s not so much the Olympic adventure that appeals to us, but above all the fact of working with Decathlon. We are making progress on our processes, we are putting more and more people to work, with employees recruited from Pôle emploi. Our clients are now communicating about the fact that they are working with us, we have been invisible for a long time, we are counting on the Olympics to have a certain recognition. »

The sets distributed in May

The volunteers’ convention constitutes the first major meeting of volunteers. Between now and the Games, they will receive their schedule (during April) and will benefit from training (in person or online, depending on their missions). The outfits will be distributed starting in May. Operations will be managed by Décathlon, which intends to bring this community to life by reserving a reception site which will soon be revealed. “The challenge is to make the brand known internationally by being present on the outfits of these 45,000 volunteers who will be at the heart of the Games,” emphasizes Virginie Sainte-Rose. These volunteers are like our Decathlon customers, they are like us. »