The Olympics chose Tahiti for its famous waves—but some surfers aren't happy about it

Elite athletes from around the world have arrived in Paris for the 2024 Olympics. But one sport—surfing—will be judged more than 9,000 miles away, in Teahupo‘o, Tahiti, French Polynesia.

Teahupo‘o (pronounced Te-a-ho-po-oh) has some of the best waves in the world. But heated debates have rumbled on for months around concerns that a metal judging tower being built for the competition would damage pristine coral reefs—and perhaps even affect the waves themselves.

As the surf competition kicks off, here’s what you need to know about the controversial judging tower. 

Why are some fans so upset about the surf judging tower?

Teahupo‘o’s wooden judging tower had been standing for two decades. But Olympics organizers originally planned to replace it with a three-story, 40-person aluminum tower with toilets and air conditioning. 

This caused upset among fans concerned about its potential to damage coral.

“The world will see the majestic waves of Teahupo‘o during the Olympic ocean competition,” says Alan Friedlander, senior marine ecologist for National Geographic's Pristine Seas. “But what is hidden beneath those waves is the true treasure of French Polynesia.”

(Teahupo‘o’s monster waves test even the most daring surfers.)

This treasure is Tahiti’s coral reefs. Although they might look like colorful rocks, reefs are made up of animals called coral polyps. Together, they provide a home to thousands of other animal species, including “more than a thousand fish species, some of which are found nowhere else on Earth,” says Friedlander.

Corals are fragile and sensitive, and damage from construction and anchoring can make them more vulnerable to marine heat waves. It takes years for coral to recover from damage. 

“The skeleton of corals is very similar to human bone” and grows very slowly, says Carlos Duarte, professor of marine science at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Even after two decades, it won’t be the same as the original reef—most coral reefs took around 5,000 years to reach their current size. Nor will it have the same biodiversity. “After two decades, what you have is not exactly what you lost,” he says. 

How exactly would the tower harm the coral?

A petition to keep the original tower has gained over 257,500 signatures. “The project has been rammed through with no ecological impact study,” the petition’s website says, warning of the “dire consequences” of damaging the reef by drilling into the coral.

Even shade created by the platform could be harmful, because “coral reefs are critically dependent on light for photosynthesis,” says Duarte.

(Before and after: See what happens to corals in a warming world.)

Coral reefs also contribute to creating the kinds of waves that surfers chase—which they do by causing waves to break as water comes into shore. In a video supporting the petition, pro surfer Matahi Drollet argued that the tower could “modify or change our wave and, in the worst-case scenario, make it disappear in a few years.” That’s because adding anything to the water—say, a tower—could change how the water flows and disrupt the wave patterns. 

This isn’t just about not damaging the reef, says Duarte. The International Olympic Committee committed to the Sports for Nature pledge, which means they should try to leave the reef healthier than it was before the competition.

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“Designing an infrastructure that can damage a very vulnerable ecosystem like coral reefs is inconsistent with that pledge,” he says.

In December 2023, the International Surfing Association announced it would “not support the construction of the new aluminum judges’ tower.”

Did the protests make any difference?

Olympics organizers said it would be unsafe to renovate the original tower because the foundations had deteriorated.

They also rejected suggestions for the new tower to be made of wood because it would mean designing the project from scratch and there wasn’t enough time. 

The ISA suggested alternative judging solutions, including a land-based tower, long lens cameras, and putting priority judges on a boat with technical officials.

(How travelers can help replant coral reefs around the world.)

None of these went ahead. The judges wouldn’t have good enough visibility from shore and Olympics organizers said “it would be impossible to observe the competition properly” if filming from boats.

Instead, they changed plans to make “a new, more moderate judges' tower” in an area with less coral. But the project received more criticism when a construction barge damaged the coral in December. Although the extent of the damage hasn’t been confirmed, footage emerged of broken corals after the barge got stuck at high tide.

Although proper impact studies would be needed to determine the impact of the smaller tower, “any action that avoids damage to corals is the route to take,” says Duarte.

The bigger picture for coral 

The smaller, lighter tower, for 25 to 30 people, is ready for this year’s competition, and can be put up again for other events. While some people remain critical, others are pleased that the more damaging plans were rolled back.

With coral reefs at risk of being lost globally, Duarte says it’s ultimately more important to think of the bigger picture. This story is “not about this small coral reef the size of about two tennis courts that is being impacted in Tahiti,” he says. “It's about these same impacts now occurring in thousands of coral reefs around the world.”

Duarte sees a silver lining in the awareness this controversy has raised about the importance of protecting coral globally. He hopes this will mobilize communities to support the protection and restoration of reefs.

“What started being a bad news story can end up being a good news story,” he says. “I think that should be the flip side that we should strive for.”