The impact of the Olympics on Teahupo’o

This year's Paris Olympics saw an event which took place the furthest from the location of the games in Olympic history.

The surfing took place in a location called Teahupo’o

This is in Tahiti, French Polynesia.

As part of The Guardian's coverage of the games, they published a very useful article exploring some of the controversy around this event, and the potential impact on local people and the reef itself.

The event has been creating the opportunity for some amazing images. Perhaps the one that has caught people's attention the most is one by Jerome Brouillet. 

I am putting together a resource for this which will explore the longer term view of this story over the coming months. This will be the real test of whether this is really a long term problem for the area, or whether the exposure brings benefits. The coverage was spectacular but relatively brief on the BBC.

One concern is over the damage to a reef in the area. Coral reefs generally are at risk from disappearing or being degraded permanently due to the increase in ocean temperatures (oceans have been absorbing excess heat for decades).

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/25/surfing-olympics-paris-2024-teahupoo-tahiti