London 2012 gives first glimpse of gold medal standard' athlete accommodation in Olympic & Paralympic Villages

The first completed Games-time apartments in the Olympic and Paralympic Villages were unveiled today as the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) announced plans to deliver ‘gold medal standard’ athlete accommodation.

The Village will be able to house up to 16,000 athletes and team officials during the Olympic Games, and 6,200 athletes and team officials plus 1000 referees and umpires during the Paralympic Games, from more than 200 teams around the world.

The Village site was handed over by the Olympic Delivery Authority in January, kick-starting a huge amount of fit-out and overlay work by LOCOG and its sponsors and partners to get the Village ready for the Games. Work is continuing across the Village and the first kitted-out Games-time apartments were unveiled today featuring:

· Bedroom furniture assembled, delivered and installed by UPS, including bedside cabinets, wardrobes and ‘extendable’ beds able to cater for taller athletes – more than 16,000 beds, 9,000 wardrobes and 11,000 sofas will be installed by UPS across the Village apartments in total

· Homeware items supplied by Next, including 22,000 pillows, 1,200 blankets and 28,000 branded duvets

· The Village will be the first to provide each apartment with its own comfortable lounge to include a television provided by Panasonic, along with BT Infinity, the latest fibre optic broadband from BT

· Each of the 11 residential blocks in the Village will be run to hotel-standards with Holiday Inn supplying experienced personnel and concierge staff and services in Village residential areas - LOCOG and Holiday Inn’s aim is for the Village to provide athletes with levels of convenience and service to match the standards of the best hotels in the world

· Residential plots built around spacious courtyards offering private space for athletes, with balconies overlooking the Olympic Park and a Central Park area - ‘the green lung’ of the Village based on a typical British village green, creating an open area for athletes to relax in

· Athlete accommodation is in 2,818 apartments across 11 residential plots. Over 250,000m2 of apartment space ranging from one bedroom apartments up to 4 and 5 bedroom townhouses, with no more than two athletes per bedroom

· Each country will be allocated a certain number of accommodation blocks in a single identifiable space, allowing their team management to manage their affairs in one central location in the Village

· The fit-out and furnishings provided in each apartment have been overseen by LOCOG’s Athletes’ Committee led by Jonathan Edwards, to ensure athletes’ comfort and convenience. Between them, the members of the Athletes’ Committee have competed at 22 Olympic and nine Paralympic Games.

LOCOG Chair Seb Coe said: "The first Games-time apartments offer an early glimpse of the gold-medal standard Village we are delivering to help athletes prepare for one of the biggest sporting moments of their lives. Our Villages team, Athletes’ Committee, sponsors and key partners are each playing a crucial role in creating a first-class Village to meet the needs of the best athletes in the world."

Olympic gold medallist Jonathan Edwards, Chair of LOCOG’s Athletes' Committee said: "Our focus at the Athletes’ Committee is to ensure the Village provides the comfort and convenience needed by modern performance athletes. Using the extensive Games-experience of the Athletes’ Committee members, I’m confident we have helped create the perfect base for the Olympians and Paralympians coming to London this summer."

The fit-out of athletes’ apartments will be completed in June. Along with work in residential areas, work is also well underway by LOCOG and its partners and sponsors to provide other essential Games-time areas and services in the Olympic Village including:

· Building the Olympic Village Plaza, the main ‘social hub’ of the Village with essential services including an Internet Lounge provided by Acer, a Bank provided by Lloyds TSB, ATM services supplied by VISA, and a Beauty & Grooming Salon and Spa provided by Procter & Gamble.

· Constructing the temporary 24-hour main dining facility with 5,000 seats, together with a McDonalds restaurant in the Main Dining Hall

· Food to be consumed includes 25,000 loaves of bread, 232 tonnes of potatoes, 75,000 litres of milk and 330 tonnes of fruit and vegetables

· Food and drink products across the Village site supplied by sponsors including Coca Cola, Cadbury, Trebor and Nature Valley

· Information Kiosks supplied by Atos across the Olympic Village site

· There will be GE equipment in the Village to efficiently generate, distribute and measure power as well as uninterruptible power supply units to ensure the athletes have stable and constant power. GE is also helping equip the Polyclinic in the Village where athletes will have access to first-class medical facilities

· A state-of-the-art athlete gym will be created in Chobham Academy with Technogym expected to supply over 750 pieces of equipment and a team of over 100 professional personal trainers at the main gym and 19 specific preparation centres. This will be the company’s fifth Olympic experience and their state-of-the-art equipment will help keep the athletes in great shape as they head off to their venues

· During the Paralympic Games, a workshop provided by Otto Bock staffed by 80 technicians and equipped with 15,000 spare parts including 2,000 wheelchair tyres to meet all the technical service and repair needs for the orthoses (devices which support the limbs), prosthetics (replacements for limbs) and wheelchairs used by Paralympic athletes

· As the London 2012 electricity provider, EDF will power the Olympic and Paralympic Village

· Constructing the Welcome Centre, the initial arrival point for athletes and officials to be officially accredited for the London 2012 Games

· Landscaping work continuing across the Village and due for completion in the spring to create green open spaces and recreational areas for athletes

After the Games, the ODA will make provision for removing temporary Games-time fittings in the apartments and ‘retro-fitting’ them with new kitchens. The Village will then create a legacy of 2,818 new homes across 11 individually designed plots in a new community to be known as East Village. This will offer the best of city living in one place as high-quality homes – affordable and private rented or owned - are matched with newly created parklands, public squares and some of the best transport connections in the capital.

Of the homes in the Village, 1,379 have been purchased by joint venture Triathlon Homes to provide high-quality affordable housing. The remaining 1,439 properties will become private housing after being acquired by a consortium of UK developer Delancey and the Qatari Diar real estate investment company. The consortium has also secured six adjacent future development plots with the potential for 2,000 more homes.

For more information, visit: www.london2012.com.

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