Rio 2016 Athletes' Village largest ever in Games history
It is the first time the village will be big enough to accommodate all the athletes in the Games city.
The Athletes' Village for the Rio 2016 Games is the largest ever built for the Olympic Games. The facilities, expected to accommodate 17,000 people during the Olympic Games and over 6,000 during the Paralympics, consist of 31 apartment towers that can get as high as 17 storeys, comprising a total 3,064 apartments.
According to Mario Cilente, executive director for the village, it is the first time the village will be big enough to accommodate all the athletes in the Games city. In London 2012, for example, athletes competing in two sports stayed in other cities outside London.
The village was unveiled to the media on Thursday (Jun. 23) and will become home to the athletes as they start arriving as of July 24. According to Cilente, it is 85% complete, and the remainder is on schedule.
The director expects the facilities will make athletes comfortable and leave them with a positive impression of Rio when they go back home. “We'll take care of all the details so athletes will be free to focus on training and getting to their competition events on time. They have worked on that all their lives and we want to give them the best of comfort.”
Because of global concerns over the Zika virus outbreak, all rooms will be equipped with electric repellents in addition to the air conditioning systems. The reflecting pools in the Olympic Village will also be well-maintained so that they will not become breeding sites for Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the vector for Zika virus.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Rio 2016 Athletes' Village largest ever in Games history
