From the outside, the look remains severe, in metallic cladding integrating all shades of gray, from the lightest to the mouse coat. Inside, it is the huge exposed wooden frame that jumps to the eyes. The new hall 3 of the Parc des Expositions, located in the continuity of the tarmac of Le Bourget airport (Seine-Saint-Denis), is now complete.
" READ ALSO JO 2024: how Seine-Saint-Denis wants to seduce the press around the world
Its demolition-reconstruction, which was the subject of a public consultation at the end of 2019, lasted eighteen months. The goal was to increase its size and bring it up to standard for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Le Bourget. The new Hall 3, brighter than the old version, impresses with its dimensions and exposed wooden frame. Guillaume Brunet
Owned by the International Paris Air Show and operated by Viparis, a subsidiary of the Paris-Île-de-France Chamber of Commerce and the Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield group, the site is a stone's throw from the media village, which is currently under construction. Located on the plateau and the Winds area in Dugny, the apartment buildings will house about 1,300 journalists and technicians, a small part of the total number expected for the coverage of the Olympics.
" READ ALSO Seine-Saint-Denis: for the pros of communication, "the Olympics, it's like an electoral campaign"
Hall 3 will be the main venue for the International Games Broadcasting and Television Production Centre. The International Broadcast Center (IBC) will be divided into offices, technical spaces, television studios, technical control rooms, with traditional catering services and an official shop.
200 m long, 100 m wide and between 10 and 12 m high
This "broadcast heart" will welcome at least 10,000 people and will operate continuously throughout the competitions, according to the organizers. Also planned at the Parc des Expositions du Bourget, the main press center of the 2024 Olympic Games has been repositioned at the Palais des Congrès de la Porte Maillot, in Paris (XVIIth).
After the next edition of the Paris Air Show in June, Hall 3 and the rest of the exhibition centre will gradually be made available to the Paris 2024 teams, starting in July, to begin the development of the IBC.
" READ ALSO "A reunion and a party": the Paris Air Show prepares its comeback after four years of absence
To accommodate the broadcasting infrastructure, the "super warehouse" has already changed measures through its reconstruction: it is now more than 200 m long, more than 100 m wide and between 10 and 12 m high. It is also brighter compared to the old version, which was completely closed.
According to the owners, 64% of the demolition materials were reused on and off site. For example, concrete was crushed and used as a layer under the road.
The "super warehouse" can accommodate 19,000 people
Hall 3 will accommodate 19,000 people on a surface area of 22,000 m2. Almost twice as high as before, it had to be designed with the "airport take-off cone" in mind. In addition to the multipurpose hall, there are fast food areas, technical rooms and sanitary facilities. The works represent an amount of 40 million euros excluding tax, financed in part by a grant from Solideo, the Olympic Works Delivery Company.