RIO DE JANEIRO — Rio Olympic organisers unveiled the great athlete’s village to media this Thursday in Manila. The soul of upcoming Rio is a brand new complex designed especially for the games and can accommodate approximately 11,000 sportsperson along with 6,000 coaches and support staff
Described as the ‘city within city’ by the local organisers, this is one of the largest village in the Olympic history with 31 towers, a massive cafeteria, gym centre, post office, first-aid centre and a bank. As per the Spokesman of Local Organizing Committee, Mario Andrada, this village is going to be a place where the soul of the games will nurture and grow.
A quick glance to Olympics 2016
While it’s not mandatory for athletes to stay in this village, organisers said that this complex will be one of the highest security facility patrolled by over 85,000 police and soldiers which are twice the number of safety used in 2012 London games.
With a double fence running across the perimeters, every guest entering and leaving the village will be subject to airport security check procedures including X-ray machines for luggage examination. Facility Director, Mario Cilenti says that the idea is that create a service that does not require athletes to leave the village as it is well-appointed with all the necessities needed.
All 3,600 units have 2, 3 and four bedroom apartments with white tile flooring and balconies. The units are also equipped with air condition systems and electric mosquito-repelling gears – aimed to protect athletes from Zika virus.
As Brazil suffers biggest economic recession of the decade, organisers stressed that no public money was spent on the Olympic project with private construction firms carrying most of the key construction projects. Even the Olympic village is built by a conglomerate that rented the entire facility to game organisers for required timeframe.
The group has been marketing these constructions for a long time and buyers are expected to move in post-Olympic games. Company’s responsible for this mega-village construction is Carvalho Hosken and Odebrecht. Odebrecht is also the primary player of the widespread bribery investigation targeting oil firm Petrobras. However, organisers have stressed for a corruption-free Olympic project.
