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The 'cardboard bed' that was a topic of discussion and controversy during the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics will also be used in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics athletes' village.

According to Inside the Games, an online media outlet reporting Olympic-related news on the 16th (Korean time), the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee has signed a contract with Airweave, the mattress supplier for the Tokyo Olympics beds.

Airweave will deliver 16,000 beds and mattresses to the Paris Olympic athletes' village, Paralympic athletes' village, and media village?accommodations for Olympic and Paralympic participants?between March and June next year. After the games conclude, the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee plans to donate these beds to charitable organizations.

The cardboard bed, first introduced at the Tokyo Olympics, was custom-made by Airweave at the request of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee, which aimed for an eco-friendly event. The bed frame was designed using cardboard material, with a mattress placed on top.

At the time, the Tokyo Organizing Committee promoted that this cardboard bed, measuring 90 cm in width and 210 cm in length, could withstand a load of approximately 200 kg. Athletes from various countries staying in the athletes' village expressed doubts on social media about whether the cardboard could truly support their weight.

Videos showing multiple people jumping on the bed simultaneously to test its durability became a hot topic, heating up the atmosphere in the early days of the Tokyo Olympics.

Some athletes mocked the cardboard bed as a 'sex-prevention' bed, believing it could not support the weight of more than one person. Nine members of the Israeli baseball team challenged the bed by increasing the number of people jumping on it one by one, eventually breaking the bed and issuing an apology statement afterward.

Mindful of the unwelcome controversy as the bed manufacturer, Airweave’s president, Mutokuni Takaoka, recently emphasized the bed’s sturdiness by jumping on it himself at a bed unveiling event held in Paris, France.

In an interview with Reuters, President Takaoka explained, "It is a very sturdy bed, designed so that 3 to 4 medal-winning athletes can jump on it and enjoy their joy."

The cardboard bed has evolved over the past two years. The mattress is custom-made in three parts: head and shoulders, waist, and legs.

Each country's athletes entering the village first undergo a full-body scan and photo shoot. An artificial intelligence (AI) program then determines the most suitable mattress for the athlete, considering their height, weight, and event. For taller athletes, the bed length can be extended up to 220 cm.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.