"Stadium Beer and Wine Are Only for VIPs"... Paris Olympics Discrimination Boils Over

France ?vin Law "Restricts Alcohol and Tobacco Sales at Large Events"
Reception Areas Like 'VIP Lounge' Are Exempt

On the 29th of last month, spectators watched the men's team archery event of the 2024 Paris Olympics held in Paris, France.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

At the Paris Olympics, alcohol is not allowed to be brought in or consumed in the general spectator areas, excluding VIP zones.

On the 31st (local time), the US NBC network reported that American spectators were baffled by the inability to purchase alcoholic beverages at the Paris Olympics. Americans, who come from a culture of watching sports while drinking, expressed their confusion over the alcohol ban.

Roder, a 57-year-old man from Albuquerque, New Mexico, said, "I came to Paris and there is no wine at all," adding, "We walked up and down the stadium thinking 'there might be a few places selling alcohol up there,' but we couldn't find any." Tiffany Thompson (34) from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said, "At every other sporting event we've been to, we could drink alcohol," and lamented, "Of course, you can watch the game without drinking, but on a hot day like today, it would have been more fun to watch while having a cold beer."

The ban on alcohol at the stadium stems from France's ?vin Law, enacted in 1991 to restrict the sale of alcoholic beverages and tobacco at large-scale events. According to this law, each sports organization can sell alcoholic beverages at a maximum of 10 events per year. Since more than 700 games are held over 16 days at the Paris Olympics, excluding the opening ceremony, the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee did not consider temporarily exempting this Olympics from the ?vin Law.

However, alcohol such as beer and wine is provided in stadium lounges to VIPs, meaning "Very Important Persons."

This is also due to French law. French law applies a separate regulation based on catering, which covers food service at banquets and events, to hospitality areas like VIP lounges. Therefore, VIPs can consume alcoholic beverages while watching the games.

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