Real inclusion is more often preached and discussed by top officials than actually implemented. True equality is reserved for public statements.

This seems to be the theme of the Paris 2024 Olympics. While many officials boast about inclusivity and equality, proclaiming the harmony of sport and Olympic values alongside the athletic competitions, the reality for many of the key players is quite different.

The key players are the athletes, who do not enjoy the comforts afforded to the officials - not even close. "The organisation wasn't good. The transport wasn't good. It was 35 degrees and there was no air conditioning. The boys didn't sleep the first two nights," complained Santiago Gomez Cora, coach of the Argentinian Sevens team.

"The Argentinian building didn't have water for a whole day. The hockey girls had to move to another building because the bathroom was full of faeces and blocked. We spent a whole day going to the toilet in the dining hall. It's unbelievable that high-performance sports organisations have these standards," added Gomez Cora during the first week of Paris 2024.

"I like fish and people find worms in the fish. It's not good enough," British swimmer Adam Peaty, a three-time Olympic gold medallist, told his country's media.

"There's a lack of certain foods: eggs, chicken, certain carbohydrates, and then there's the quality of the food, with athletes being served raw meat," complained British Olympic Association director Andy Anson to The Times.

The contrast exploded and was captured in a photograph of Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon sleeping on the ground in a park because of the heat in his room in the Olympic village.

"There's no air conditioning in the village, it's hot, the food is bad. Many athletes move because of this. It's not an excuse, it's just a chronicle of what maybe not everyone knows," lamented the Paris 2024 Olympic gold medallist.

In addition to the athletes, there is a colossal contrast when it comes to the volunteers. Although it's clear that, as the name suggests, they're volunteers and are doing it of their own free will, they receive no compensation for their work. 

There's no money, no accommodation, and no transport from their country of origin, just a uniform and a work schedule that often falls short of the expectations they've been dreaming of for months. Meanwhile, officials live in exclusive accommodation, frequent VIP areas, and dine in Michelin-starred restaurants.

To draw a parallel, or rather to highlight the stark differences, volunteers receive only one meal a day from the IOC as compensation, which is little given the number of hours they dedicate with passion to various activities. 

These range from communication, assisting officials (as if they were private secretaries), driving, assisting inside and outside stadiums, welcoming and guiding spectators on the streets and at sports venues, supervising athletes and, in the best cases, accompanying delegations from the various countries participating in the Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, IOC officials travel by private chauffeur-driven cars (sometimes driven by the volunteers themselves), sleep in luxury hotels such as L'Hotel du Collectionneur, whose website advertises rooms for €400 a night (with superior rooms going for up to €800), dine in restaurants not frequented by ordinary people and, of course, receive all sorts of invitations to events befitting a French bourgeois before the late 18th century revolution.

Moreover, in order not to be "disturbed" and to ensure the privacy that their positions deserve, IOC officials (and their staff) have rented an entire hotel exclusively for themselves, at a cost of €22 million, according to the CGT departmental union in Paris.

L'Hôtel du Collectionneur is located on rue de Courcelles, opposite the Parc Monceau and close to the Palais de l'Elysee and rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore. It celebrates the legacy of the majestic private mansions that characterised the landscape of the Second Empire. 

Inspired in particular by Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann's Hotel du Collectionneur at the 1925 Universal Exhibition, the hotel pays homage to the splendour of Art Deco, according to its own website.

Journalists? Far from it, forbidden, of course. It's no good for them to show what no one is proud of, even if a few enjoy it. They are not allowed in, nor is anyone else without a special invitation, including the athletes who, as they have reported, have to stay in the Olympic Village despite the heat and the poor quality of the food and accommodation, or, of course, pay for a hotel out of their own pockets.

The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Volunteer Charter gives clear instructions on the use of uniforms, which are considered to be "the property of Paris 2024". Wearing the uniform is compulsory during the mission to identify the volunteer, but it is forbidden when not on duty, except on the way from home to the Olympic site where they have to carry out their mission.

"They give us one meal a day, but only when we are on duty. If we have a day off, for example, they don't give us a meal or transport," said a Swiss brother and sister, both volunteers, who requested anonymity because the IOC does not allow volunteers to speak.

The 45,000 volunteers were given 15 pieces of unisex clothing and accessories free of charge at the start of their mission by Decathlon, the official sponsor of the Games, which agreed to provide the clothing in exchange.

These uniforms, in the colours of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, consist of nothing more than a cap, four T-shirts, a windbreaker jacket, two pairs of convertible trousers that turn into shorts, four pairs of socks (two blue and two pink), a pair of trainers, a belt bag and a bag. Not much for those who may be there for more than 20 days, and who will have to wash their own clothes, of course.

"They gave us uniforms and not much else. One meal a day and the chance to be close to the athletes. As a tennis lover, I was lucky to be assigned to Roland Garros, where I got to see Rafa Nadal and Alcaraz," an Argentinian volunteer who was at Qatar 2022 on the same arrangement told Inside The Games. "It's a way to be close to the athletes and experience something different."

The minimum wage in France as of June 2024 is set at €1,766.9 per month, or €21,203 per year. If we take an average of 15 days per Paris 2024 volunteer and consider them as employees at the legal minimum wage, we can estimate the financial impact. 

This would not be the case, as they would be paid more if hired according to the International Labour Organisation’s guidelines. By calculating this simple mathematical operation, we can determine how much the IOC is saving by exploiting the volunteers' dream of experiencing the Olympic Games.

The savings amount to almost €400 million (€ 39,755,250), almost double what the IOC paid for the luxurious and imposing L'Hotel du Collectionneur.

This is in stark contrast to the athletes, volunteers and even the employees of the luxury hotel, who went on strike before the start of the Olympic Games to demand a pay rise after years of wage freezes (and soaring inflation, mainly due to the economic policies of the European Union during the pandemic).

"The owner of L'Hotel du Collectionneur will pay 9.5 million euros in dividends to shareholders in 2024 and hasn't increased wages for seven years," the union complained.

In addition to all these benefits, IOC members, who don't have to pay for travel, accommodation and, of course, food and transport in Paris, can receive hundreds of euros a day, depending on their role, which can reach €12,000 to €15,000 in the most important cases.

How much will the athletes receive from the IOC for their participation? Zero euros, over and above what a sponsor, National Olympic Committees (NOCs), International Federations (IFs) or governments might give them as a prize.

To be fair, the IOC does distribute money to the NOCs, but not directly to the athlete; instead, the NOCs can spend it as they see fit, either directly on participating athletes or on maintaining the sporting structure, according to their own criteria.

The Olympic Games are amateur by nature, for the Olympic spirit and the glory that comes with simply competing and obviously winning medals or diplomas, despite the fact that millions of euros are generated through sponsors, tickets and television than do not return directly.

In conclusion, as is often the case in life, one thing is said and another is done. One VIP reality for some and another for others, even for the main protagonists of the Games, the athletes and volunteers, who work long hours every day to make their dreams come true.