What it’s REALLY like inside the Olympic village: Athletes including Tom Daley show off their Tokyo living quarters including ‘sturdy’ cardboard beds, daily Covid tests, flirty athletes and Japanese toilets

  • 2020 games will see more than 16,000 competitors from 206 countries play for medals in their fields 
  • Millennial and Gen Z athletes have taken to TikTok to show reveals what life is really like in the Olympic Village 
  • They’ve shown the sturdy cardboard beds, flirting with other athletes, fancy Japanese toilets and daily tests
  • Find out the latest Tokyo Olympic news including schedule, medal table and results right here

From testing out the ‘sturdy’ cardboard beds to locking eyes ‘hot athletes’ across the dining hall and playing video games between training in world class venues, athletes in Tokyo have been sharing what life in the Olympic Village is like.

The delayed 2020 games, which officially kicks off today, will see more than 16,000 competitors from 206 countries play for medals in their fields.

And with a new generation of younger millennial and Gen Z athletes at this year’s games, many have taken to TikTok to show reveals what life is really like in the Olympic Village.

Among them is Team GB star Tom Daley, 27, who is now at his fourth games having headed to Beijing in 2008 aged just 14.



The delayed 2020 games, which officially kicks off today, will see more than 15,000 competitors from 206 countries play for medals in their fields. And with a new generation of younger millennial and Gen Z athletes at this year’s games, many have taken to TikTok to show reveals what life is really like in the Olympic Village. Among them is Team GB star Tom Daley, 27, who is now at his fourth games having headed to Beijing in 2008 aged just 14. From left: Team GB’s balconies, Tom Daley trying out the bed, The Olympic rings in the village

In one clip, the Bronze medallist shows off his bedroom, which he shares with his synchronised partner Matthew Lee, 23.     

‘Team GB have done a great job of making us feel at home, as you can see they’ve kitted it out to the max,’ he explains as he shows dozens of banners of Union Flags and signs saying ‘Team GB’ from the balcony.  

He  also shows off a ‘nice view of the bay , as well single beds kited out with ‘Tokyo 2020 blankets’.

In a bid to be sustainable, the beds are made from cardboard, but are ‘very sturdy’ with Tom showing they’re strong enough to bounce on.

The video also shows his teammate Noah William, 21, playing video games in the communal area.  

‘We’ve got loads of space, fridge, freezer, tea, coffee, kettle, loo,’ Tom added, showing a high-tech Japanese toilet. 


Jazmin Sawyers, a Team GB long jumper, also shared a clip of her daily life of an Olympian and the Covid protocols in place by the British team.



Jaz showed off the village – including where athelets are allowed to walk and where they can get some fresh air

‘There’s a  big old shower, and yes we’ve tried, we can fit everyone in that shower at the same time,’ he cheekily added.

Elsewhere he showed flags from around the world, and self driving buses to get the athletes around as well as complex Japanese toilets. 

Heading to the dining hall, Tom adds: ‘They have every kind of food you can imagine because they have to cater to everyone’s dietary needs’.

He also reveals there’s a gift store and general shop. 

Jazmin Sawyers, a Team GB long jumper, also shared a clip of her daily life of an Olympian and the Covid protocols in place by the British team. 


Team Australia’s Tilly Kearns also showed off their rooms, showing it filled with kits in their green and yellow colours

Kangaroo for luck! Team Australia revealed all their kit in the Olympic village 

In the clip she reveals all athletes have to take a PCR test everyday, which has to be submitted before 10am, meaning there’s no lie-ins. 

After doing a Covid-test they take their own temperature and submit it in an app to the Japanese government .

‘There’s hand sanitiser absolutely everywhere and you have to wear masks unless you’re eating or training’ she explained.

Jaz, who has also competed in bobsleigh and the heptathlon, went on: ‘When you’re eating you have to eat behind plastic screens and you’re not allowed to serve yourself food 



Team Australia hockey player Maddie Fitz showed her teammate making a sign and hanging it on their balcony after taking a liking to a Team USA player

‘You’re not allowed to leave the team hotel at all, apart from one supervised walk of for training’.

Other athletes have shown the more social side to the village, with Team GB rowers  Rebecca Shorten Polly Swann sharing footage of the flag walkway, Olympics rings, free bottled water, and incredible views of Tokyo.

The British team’s quarters are also kitted out with deckchairs emblazoned with the Union Flag and even a red telephone box to help athletes feel at home.

 Puerto Rican basketball player Alison Gibson joked she would be ‘getting pregnant’ at the games as condoms aren’t provided while Maddie Fitz, an Australian hockey player shared a video of her teammates making a sign for a ‘hot’ Team USA star they spotted on another balcony.



Many athletes showed off their beds and tested out how sturdy the plastic foam mattresses and cardboard beds were  

USA Rugby Sevens star Ilona Maher also showed how she wanted to ‘kiss’ an athlete she spotted in the dining hall.

The American woman’s Rugby Sevens team also tested out the cardboard beds, showing they’re strong enought to do yoga on, cry on, and do sit ups on.

It comes after American long-distance runner Paul Chelimo joked about the beds on Twitter, saying they were designed to support only one athlete to stop ‘situations beyond sports’. 

American Paralympic javelin thrower Justin Phongsavanh,  who was paralysed after being shot in an Iowa McDonald’s in 2015, racked up more than 6 million viewers with a video of him throwing his javelin before declaring ‘that was horrible’. 

Elsewhere,  French triathlete Cassandre Beaugrand shared a clip of her apartment, showing stunning views of Tokyo’s famous skyline, while  Belgian gymnast Maellyse Brassart showed off the world class facilities including her team working out on exercise bikes.   



From left: Team Belgium training, the food in the Olympic village food hall, and water which is free around the vilage

USA Rugby Sevens star Ilona Maher also showed how she wanted to ‘kiss’ an athlete she spotted in the dining hall.

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