15 July 2024
The Grand Depart: Eurostar celebrates the first Team GB athletes heading to Paris 2024 Olympics
Monday, 15th July 2024, London: Eurostar, the high-speed rail service across Europe, celebrated the first of Team GB's departure for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Departing on one of Eurostar’s Golden Trains were the Archery, Boxing and Gymnastics teams. The qualified Team GB athletes included boxer Delicious Orie, London-born triple gold medallist gymnast Max Whitlock, and archer Bryony Pitman, returning for her second Games after Tokyo 2020.
As the official travel partner for Team GB and ParalympicsGB for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Eurostar is set to welcome over 2,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes on board from four teams: Team GB, Team Belgium, Team Netherlands, and Team Germany. The partnership will help teams and visitors in reducing their carbon footprint by up to 96% according to a study by EcoRes in 2023.
Lewis Richardson, one of the Team GB boxers, said: “I am super excited to get out to Paris now and have a great Team GB preparation camp. Currently, I am filled with overwhelming emotions of pride and gratitude for the opportunities provided as well as the hard work I’ve put in. My real focus is being present and enjoying the moment.”
Excited staff then greeted the first of the athletes on the platform and handed out Team GB-inspired posies for good luck, before the athletes boarded the Golden Train, setting their sights firmly on the Paris 2025 Games.
Gwendoline Cazenave, CEO of Eurostar, added: "We’re here to celebrate Team GB who have chosen Eurostar as their means to travel for these incredible games. We are proud to partner with both Team GB and Paralympics GB, as this event marks a significant milestone in the lead-up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. I can’t wait to see athletes compete and am confident our trains will come back heavier with medals, memories and the pure joy from competing".
Two golden-wrapped trains are travelling across the Eurostar network to honour the ambitions for the 2024 Games and special Olympic-themed chocolates and cocktails will be available in the Business Premier lounges in Paris and London.
The cocktails on offer include:
- Martinez (France): a must-try for fans of a traditional dry martini but with a sweet tooth, a heady mix of gin, sweet and dry vermouth, maraschino liqueur and bitters
- The Old Smoke (Great Britain): smokey and sophisticated, oak-smoked English vodka, vermouth and scotch lend this classy cocktail an essence of burning log fires and smouldering coals
- Les Marolles (Belgium): a classic bone-dry combination of gin and vermouth with olive brine and an olive garnish adding a pleasingly savoury character to this dirty martini
- Vesper (The Netherlands): athletes and customers can channel their inner Bond with this shaken-not-stirred wet martini made with Dutch vodka, Bols Genever and Lillet Blanc, finished with a twist of lemon
- Schwarzwald (Germany): this tasty tipple is as refreshing as a Black Forest rain shower, with a tangy mix of botanical gin, dry vermouth, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, grapefruit juice, and simple syrup
This collaboration highlights Eurostar's dedication to sustainability and excellence in travel, ensuring athletes and customers experienced a medal-worthy journey.
-END-
NOTES TO EDITOR
- Eurostar aims to carry 30 million passengers a year by 2030 and become the benchmark for sustainable travel in Europe
- With a fleet of 51 trains, Eurostar offers the largest international high-speed network in Western Europe, serving 28 destinations in Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In 2023, Eurostar carried 18.6 million passengers and generated sales of €2 billion
- Eurostar is owned by SNCF Voyages Développement (55.75%), a subsidiary of SNCF Voyageurs, CDPQ (19.31%), SNCB (18.50%) and funds managed by Federated Hermes Infrastructure (6.44%)
Eurostar Press Office press.office@eurostar.com Fleet: 51 trains (25 Cross channel, 26 Continental)
About The British Olympic Association The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Its mission is to develop, promote, and protect the Olympic Movement in our territory in accordance with the Olympic Charter. The BOA achieves this through:
- Working in partnership with our members and key stakeholders to deliver world-leading services and support to enable British athletes to reach their full potential at the Olympic Games, Olympic Winter Games, and other IOC-sanctioned events
- Providing athletes with relevant support on the journey to, during, and following their Olympic careers
- Engaging people throughout the United Kingdom to pursue their own goals and dreams through the Olympic Values and the example of Team GB Olympians
- Being the independent voice of Olympic Sport and collaborating with our members and other sport stakeholders, both domestically and internationally, to support the continued growth and overall health of the Olympic Movement in the UK
For further information, please visit TeamGB.com.
About ParalympicsGB ParalympicsGB is the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Paralympic Team competing at the summer and winter Paralympic Games. We know that the outstanding performances of our athletes have a powerful impact on the British public and can shift perceptions of disability in society, helping to inspire a better world for disabled people. The BPA would like to thank the National Lottery, UK Sport, and our Gold Partners: adidas, Aldi, Allianz, bp, Bupa, CMR Surgical, Dreams, Hogan Lovells, John West, Nestlé Cereals UK, Ocean, Salesforce, Toyota, and our Partners: Citi and Sir Robert McAlpine for their support.
Further details are available at
https://paralympics.org.uk/.