Thousands of hotel nights have been canceled by the organizers of the 2024 Paris Olympics in Lille, which is set to host some of the basketball and handball events, the organizing committee confirmed on Monday.
This cancellation comes weeks after hotels in Châteauroux, the city hosting the shooting events, were also affected.
The organizers confirmed to AFP that they released rooms in Lille 7 months before the games, believing that they could still be booked as per the terms of the contract. However, they did not disclose the number of nights affected.
President of the hotel club of Lille-Métropole, Boris Delecroix, expressed regret over the cancellations, estimating that they represented about 2,000 nights per day over a 10-day period.
More than fifty handball and basketball matches are scheduled to be held at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium during the Olympics.
Delecroix remains optimistic, stating that Lille is used to hosting major sporting events and is confident in their ability to handle the situation.
He also mentioned the proximity of Lille to Paris as a possible reason for the cancellations.
A new Olympic village based at the Stadium in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, with almost 500 rooms, is set to be delivered between the end of March and May to accommodate the athletes.
