Giant swimming pool, virtual reality: a free immersive space by EDF at the Pavillon Gabriel

The capital is transforming itself for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, including on the Champs-Elysées, where the Pavillon Gabriel is hosting an immersive play space for the duration of the competition, accessible free of charge to the whole family! Invested by EDF, the ephemeral venue showcases sport and energy innovations through a series of themed rooms, featuring 180° projections, meditative rooms, games and virtual reality!

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While the EDF Pavilion informs the general public about what's being done to improve society thanks to renewable energies, the French electricity company focuses on its team of athletes for the Paris 2024 Games, presented in a rhythmic film, which you watch in a sensory room, headphones on for even more immersion.

After passing through a corridor resembling a changing room, where we listen to Florent Manaudou speak to us through a shower head (yes, yes), we discover the centerpiece of the Pavilion, a huge swimming pool, more real than life, a particularly impressive décor!

Here, we plunge right into the heart of the sport, with a virtual reality canoe-kayak simulator to train and better understand our athletes! Thanks to a screen that detects your movements, you can also test your swimming speed in an exceptional 50m race, alongside diving goggles, buoys and a giant oar, to keep up with the aquatic atmosphere! Then it's on to the athletics track, where you can try your hand at para-athletics in a wheelchair, again in VR.

A 1,000m2 educational and inclusive space, to discover or familiarize yourself with the sports we'll be watching during the Olympic Games, in real life or on TV, for a free experience out of the ordinary! We also take the opportunity to observe the improvements made specifically to the Olympic infrastructures, from the Athletes' Village to the Olympic Aquatic Centre, which are set to make all the difference in the future!

The Pavillon EDF is open until August 11, before closing for a few weeks, to reopen from August 24 to September 8, 2024, for the Paralympic Games! Don't forget to book your free place in advance, to be sure to enjoy the venue, from 10am to 8pm, every day, except during the opening ceremonies.