Olympic 2012 village inaugurated

Up to 16,000 athletes and team officials from more than 200 countries will eat and sleep in the village at the Olympic Park in east London during the Games, and about 7,000 during the Paralympics. The apartments will be sold after the athletes have gone home but their interests have been catered for during Games time, with former Olympic triple jump gold medallist Jonathan Edwards on the advisory panel. The 11 residential blocks will have an internet lounge, a bank, and beauty salon and spa, but no kitchens. Jonathan Edwards, the 2000 Olympic triple-jump champion and chair of London 2012 s athletes committee, said: "The most important thing for us at London 2012 is that when the athletes from all over the world arrive here that we give them the best possible facilities in order to produce the amazing performances we want to see from them. "The success of our games will depend on how good the sport is so it makes sense for us to get things right for the athletes and I think the most important place for us to get it right is here in the Olympic village." "It s a compact village in comparison to some of the other villages so there will be a feeling of togetherness, of cameraderie, of friendship of kind of a competition but also mutual support, the fact that you re so close to all the main facilities in the Olympic Park again gives it that special atmosphere," added Edwards. In the village, no more than two athletes will share a bedroom in the 2,800 apartments. A good night s sleep is vital ahead of competition, and organisers have installed full length black-out curtains to aid sleep. Rabble rousers will also be told to be quiet while organisers hope the proximity of the West End, with its theatres and nightlife, will help athletes let off steam without disturbing their fellow competitors. The blocks have courtyards and green spaces where athletes can relax. The village will be the first to provide each apartment with its own lounge, television and high-speed broadband. Instead of kitchens, athletes will dine in a 5,000-seat main hall where they are expected to munch their way through 25,000 loaves of bread and drink 75,000 litres of milk. They will also have access to a burger chain restaurant, several "grab and go" stations and a barbecue. Kitchens will be installed after the Games when the apartments will be sold and the Olympic Park will be renamed the Queen Elizabeth Park.