Exclusive - Inside Team GB House

(ATR) British Olympic Association CEO Andy Hunt took Around the Rings on an exclusive, behind the scenes tour of Team GB House, located at Westfield Shopping City.

Team GB House will serve as the BOA’s primary hospitality and media site during the Games. VIP rooms are in place, as well as a large reception hall for events.

Hunt said the BOA explored options in Central London and near Olympic Park before settling on Westfield Stratford City.

"People are coming down predominantly into Olympic Park," he said. "This is where they want to be rather than Central London. There’s so much competition taking place into the evening. We felt as if this was a better location."

For entertainment purposes, a large reception wall was created with a miniature athletics track.

The venue holds 500 people.

"We will get demand all the time," Hunt predicted.

Team GB House will officially open July 28, but smaller events have already taken place.

Additionally, Procter & Gamble created a "Nearest & Dearest" suite for British athletes. Their loved ones can have a private place to relax or watch competition during the Games.

Hunt says Team GB will remain busy throughout the day.

"In essence it will run 24 hours," he said.

The House will close at 1 a.m. each night and re-open at breakfast, but all deliveries must come in between 1 and 3 a.m.

To accommodate non-rights holding broadcasters who are forbidden to broadcast images from within Olympic venues, Team GB House has several television studios and satellite links for British broadcasters to beam back reports to their home networks.

A dedicated press conference room will also be the third and final stop for medal-winning athletes following their performances. The press conference room was also created with non-accredited media who are unable to access venues in mind.

The facility, located at the edge of London Olympic Park, will serve not only as a hospitality hub for the BOA during the Games, but also as a home to support staff.

Hunt said about 70 BOA staff members will work in the back office at any one time. They will complement the work done by BOA staff at their headquarters in London. The BOA is also maintaining a sizable presence at Queen Mary’s University.

"We’ve got about 800 support staff with volunteer staff," he said.

"This is another paradigm. It’s four or five fold what we would have done in the past."

Hunt said the decision to move the support staff to Team GB House was made due to the restrictions on credentials to the Olympic Village.

Without strong support from BOA sponsors, Team GB House would not have taken off, according to Hunt.

"Taking on the lease for this for six months, building it out in the way that we have, all of the operating costs, we’ve managed to cover nearly two-thirds of the total cost from sponsors involved in programs here."

For fans who can’t get into Team GB House, a "Club House" at the Hyde Park live site will run for the general public.

Click here for a complete On-the-Scene Photodesk from Team GB House.

Reported in London by Ed Hula III

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