Sawt Falasteen - Scandal-hit Olympic surf tower in Tahiti wins local backing

Work on the tower at Teahupo'o beach on the French Pacific island of Tahiti was suspended in December after a barge used by workers damaged coral at the site.

Polynesian government leader Moetai Brotherson had long questioned whether the surfing heats as part of the 2024 Paris Olympics should take place at Teahupo'o.

But after changes to the plans and schedule, he told AFP that he now wanted the chance to showcase his region of more than 100 islands during the Games from July 26 to August 11.

"I'm totally happy with how the work is going after the controversy over the judges' tower," he said. "Polynesians have accepted the solution that was proposed.

"So far, around two thirds of the drilling has been done and they are going to start laying the foundation blocks," he added.

The new aluminium tower will replace a wooden version previously used at Teahupo'o, a site long used for world surfing championships.

"We've changed the format. We are being very, very demanding with the builders," Brotherson added. "All the work is being followed by our services and everything is going well.

"We've not had any (more) coral broken."

Local surfers and environmentalists were outraged by the damage to the coral in December and an online petition against the project attracted more than 200,000 signatures.

Tahiti, around 15,000 kilometres (9,300 miles) from Paris, was selected to host the second Olympic surfing competition in history with the the aim of including France's overseas territories in the Games.

The new judges' tower is expected to be completed by May 13 in time for a World Surf League (WSL) event which will serve as a dress rehearsal for the Olympics.

T.Khatib--SF-PST