« Back to article | Print this article |
The London Olympics Games Village is buzzing with activity as athletes, officials and journalists from all corners of the world rub shoulders.
At full capacity, it can house 16,000 athletes and officials from 203 countries, plus a workforce of up to 7,500.
There will be as many as 3,500 visitors a day.
The Village in Stratford, billed as the most compact in recent Games history, cost about $1.71 billion of public funds to build and is divided into 'Countryside', 'Seaside' and 'Heritage' zones.
At the Village on Thursday, I met athletes of different nationalities, exchanged pleasantries and gave them my best wishes.
I also visited the main dining area in the Village, which has a capacity of 5000 seats, including a McDonalds restaurant.
It will serve 1.2 million meals during the Games, comprising 1300 different types of dishes and up to 60,000 meals daily.
The menu was developed in consultation with dieticians and sport nutritionists and provision is made for multiple tastes and religions.
The themes include 'Best of British', 'African & Caribbean', 'Indian & Asian' and 'European, American & Mediterranean'.
The expected food consumption in the Village is set to be in the range of 25,000 loaves of bread, 232 tonnes of potatoes, 75,000 litres of milk and more than 330 tonnes of fruit and vegetables including 2.7 million bananas.
McDonald's is offering more choice on the menu than at any previous Games as well as a broad McCafe menu.
London 2012 commercial partners Coca Cola, Cadbury, Nature Valley and Trebor will supply the only branded food and drink.