The Olympic Village opened its doors today at midday local time, 17.00 Italian time. Despite the concerted efforts and commitment of the organizers, there are some parts of the village that are not yet ready to host athletes from around the world.
"Included in the areas that are incomplete are some of the apartments of block 20, where the Italian team will stay, which in recent days has seen crews of workers, electricians, plumbers and builders, who were specifically and urgently contracted by CONI on site so that the housing conditions of the athletes and Italian athletes can be brought up to standard as soon as possible", said the Head of the Italian Mission, Carlo Mornati, who added: "I would like to thank Anna Riccardi and the CONI team who, in these early days, have had to confront unpredictable and difficult situations. I ask the athletes for their maximum collaboration and understanding, above all until the Village has been completed".
The Rio 2016 Organizing Committee has admitted that there have been delays and has issued the following statement.
“As we reached the final stretch of preparations to welcome the athletes to the Olympic Village, it became clear that part of the rooms were behind schedule. Crews have worked overnight and will be working 24 hours a day until the issues are resolved. Unfortunately, we expect this to take another few days. Athletes that are arriving in the Village will be placed in finished accommodation and we will be working hard to ensure that the on-going works do not disturb their preparations for the Games – preparations that will be taking place in fully checked top quality training venues. We regret any inconvenience that this may cause and we greatly appreciate the understanding of the National Olympic Committees at this time".
