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Sweden

King Carl Gustaf given first hand tour of the controversial Olympic development

King Carl Gustaf of Sweden is making the most of his time in Paris at the 2024 Olympics and has visited the Olympic Village. 

The Swedish King visited Sweden Arena, the home of Team Sweden in the Olympic Village and was able to try the much-talked about Olympic beds. 

Following on from the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Paris chose to give Olympians beds made of cardboard with polyethylene mattresses. The beds are reportedly able to support approximately 30 stone and are supposed to be recyclable, to be in line with the Games’s sustainability goals. 

However, athletes have said throughout the Games that the beds are uncomfortable with many teams buying their own mattresses to use. 

King Carl Gustaf gave the beds his seal of approval during his tour of the athlete accommodations. 

His Majesty was also able to meet with several Swedish athletes. On Tuesday, the King and Queen caught Truls Möregårdh, Kristian Karlsson and Anton Källberg representing Sweden in the Men’s Table Tennis quarterfinals. When visiting the village on Thursday, the King met Möregårdh and Källberg again to chat about their win. 

King Carl Gustaf also met Daniel Ståhl, a Swedish thrower, and Fanny Roos who competed in shot put. 

The Swedish King looked the part for his Village visit, wearing the official Uniqlo polo shirt. 

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Historian and blogger at AnHistorianAboutTown.com