The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics are right around the corner, with athletes arriving in Italy ahead of the opening ceremony, which will take place this Friday (February 6).
People have long been intrigued about what happens at the Olympic village, a residential complex where competitors from across the world sleep, eat, train, and interact with fellow athletes.
Highlights
- Team GB ice dancer Phebe Bekker shared a review of her bed at the Milan Olympic Village ahead of the Winter Games.
- At the 2024 Paris Olympics, many athletes complained that the cardboard eco-friendly beds were very uncomfortable.
- Skeptics believe the hard mattresses were designed to discourage athletes from hooking up in the village.
Image credits: phebebekker_
At the Paris Olympics, there was one aspect of the village that attracted particular attention: the cardboard beds.
While the use of recycled material for the mattresses was announced as an effort to make the Olympics more environmentally friendly, many people suspected that organizers also wanted to make them less comfortable to discourage athletes from being intimate with each other.
The beds led to complaints from athletes themselves about how uncomfortable they were, with Australian water polo player Matilda Kearns saying she had a massage to “undo the damage” from the “rock-solid” mattress.
Image credits: Peter Kneffel/picture alliance via Getty Images
Now, British ice dancer Phebe Bekker has shared what the beds look like for those competing at the upcoming Winter Games.
In her TikTok page, she posted a video of her room in Milan, confirming that the beds are made of sturdier material.
“Heard it here first: there are no cardboard beds. Well, as far as I know,” the Surrey athlete said after knocking on the bed frame.
“That is a mattress!” she added after using her hand to test how comfortable it was.
Image credits: phebebekker
People took to the comments to celebrate the end of the infamous cardboard beds. “THEY LISTENED,” one user wrote.
“They look niiiiice,” shared someone else.
“You’re here reporting what we all need to know,” joked another.
“Nothing has been made to be temporary. Your beds, your rooms will be the new dormitory for Milan's university students,” added a fourth.
“Here you are in Italy, not in France, with cardboard beds😂😂🤷🏽♂️” wrote an Italian viewer.
Image credits: phebebekker_
In a separate video, the ice dancer recorded the “free, unlimited” vending machines at the Olympic village.
She and her Team GB partner used only the credential dangling from his neck, which the machine scanned before dispensing their drink.
Additionally, Bekker shared that there is a sound bath class, a meditation practice that uses gongs, held every day at 10 a.m to help athletes relax.
Image credits: phebebekker_
At the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, athletes slept on beds made of cardboard, reportedly to discourage intimacy at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the Winter Olympics in Beijing, organizers returned to regular bed frames, but cardboard beds made a comeback in 2024 at the Paris Olympics for sustainability reasons.
That year, Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon was spotted taking a nap in a park under a tree during the Paris Games.
Asked about his viral photo, the gold medalist told Eurosport that the grass was “less uncomfortable” than his Olympic village bed.
"It's a bit hard to sleep in the beds. They're a bit hard, a bit narrow, and a bit small,” explained Ceccon, who won gold in the 100-meter backstroke.
He also complained about the quality of the food and the lack of air conditioning in the rooms.
“There is no air conditioning in the village, it’s hot, the food is bad,” Ceccon said about the eco-friendly accommodation. “Many athletes move for this reason: it’s not an alibi or an excuse, it’s the reality of what perhaps not everybody knows.
“I’m disappointed that I didn’t make the final, but I was too tired. It’s hard to sleep both at night and in the afternoon. Here, I really struggle between the heat and the noise,” he added after failing to reach the 200-meter backstroke final.
Image credits: Kevin Voigt/GettyImages
The US women’s tennis team, with the exception of Coco Gauff, reportedly left the village for alternate lodging.
Ariarne Titmus, who won a gold medal in the Women’s 400m Freestyle Swimming and a silver medal in the Women’s 200m Freestyle Swimming, said that “living in the Olympic Village makes it hard to perform.”
“It’s definitely not made for high performance, so it’s about who can really keep it together in the mind,” the Australian athlete shared.
Image credits: Kevin Voigt/GettyImages
Similarly, Andy Anson, the chief of the British Olympic Association, told The Times of London that organizers did not serve enough eggs, chicken, and certain carbohydrates to athletes.
“And then there is the quality of the food, with raw meat being served to athletes,” he added.
The star of the menu appeared to be the American-inspired chocolate muffins, which went viral on social media after Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen posted them on TikTok and gave them an “insane” 11/10 star review.
Image credits: paulineschaefer
According to the Olympics’ official website, the Milan village for the Winter Games was built on a former public railway site through private investment and will be converted into a modern student housing complex after the Olympics.
The 2026 Winter Olympics will also have another village located in Cortina D’Ampezzo, a town in the heart of the Dolomites. Cortina is hosting curling, Alpine skiing, bobsled, luge, and skeleton events.
Image credits: phebebekker_
In Cortina, athletes have a fitness center, recreational space, lounge, dining hall, massage rooms, and a prayer room, as per the Associated Press.
The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, held across the Lombardy region of northeast Italy, will run from February 6-22.
The opening ceremony will take place at the iconic Milano San Siro Olympic Stadium.
