‘Our help is such a big part of the Olympics’

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‘Our help is such a big part of the Olympics’

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Elisabeth Lomholdt recently graduated from university

Taxi drivers are often hoping to pick up a five star review, but Olympic chauffeur Elisabeth Lomholdt is hoping she gets a chance to pick up real life stars.

The volunteer driver from Denmark is spending the summer behind the wheel, zig-zagging between venues across Paris.

So far she hasn’t seen a medallist, instead taking officials to and from the Games but says she’s had no shortage of interesting conversations.

“The longer the ride, the better,” the 25-year-old tells BBC Newsbeat. “I feel so inspired after hearing people’s stories.”

Elisabeth, who lives in Copenhagen, says: “Every time I have passengers, I have one question, because I’m really interested in learning what the biggest sports are from their country.

“Because in Denmark, it’s mostly soccer and handball and in all other countries, those are not the main sports.”

Elisabeth has been living in Paris for five weeks and says when she first arrived, “a lot of people told me, ‘you’re crazy that you want to drive in Paris’.”

Traffic in the French capital can be notoriously difficult to navigate.

“When you drive in Paris, people, mostly the motorcycles, put on the light and just go beep, beep, beep, and they just continue in between cars,” says Elisabeth.

“What I’m used to is like roundabouts with lanes, stuff like that. Here, there are no lanes.

“You just have to kind of adapt.”

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Elisabeth was selected from about 300,000 applicants for volunteer roles

Lots of people volunteer straight after graduating but Elisabeth might have the best stories.

She loves sport, but more than that she says she was drawn to the opportunity to see behind the scenes at such an enormous event when she first applied more than a year-and-a-half ago.

“It’s not what you see on televisions, it’s all that, all the things that are in the back,” she says.

“Like, how is it structured? I think that’s really interesting.”

Elisabeth is one of 45,000 people volunteering at the Paris Olympics out of more than 300,000 who applied.

“It’s really inspiring how our help is such a big part of the Olympics,” she says.

“The Olympics wouldn’t be the Olympics without volunteers.”

Paris 2024 pledged to be the most sustainable Games yet.

That’s why TikTok has been full of videos of athletes bouncing on cardboard beds and vegan options in the canteen.

Organisers also made plans when it came to getting around the city, making all the venues accessible by public transport and creating 400km (250 miles) of new bike lanes.

But even Elisabeth’s taxi has had a sustainable makeover. The car she drives is part of an electric fleet and fewer have been commissioned than in previous Games.

The 25-year-old hopes to see more people inspired to volunteer their time.

“I know we don’t get paid, but it gives you so much more than what money is,” she says.

“It gives you perspectives on life.”

And with the closing ceremony on Sunday, Elisabeth still has a chance to pick up her dream passengers.

“I think it would be fun to have some of the Danish athletes,” she says.

“But I am biased.”

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