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Visitors to the Olympic Village broke out the rain gear yesterday as showers, and later thunderstorms, struck Beijing. [Agencies]
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You can't please everyone, but the 2008 Olympic Village comes close.
"When you go into the dining hall, it's like being back at a massive school" was British tennis player Andy Murray's first impression.
Others have compared the Village to a modern university campus. But it seems everyone is impressed with the arrangements made by Beijing for its temporary residents.
Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, has described the Olympic village in Beijing as "the best ever".
"I've never seen a Village like this -it is outstanding," added Rogge. whose experience goes back to 1968, when he was a yachting competitor.
The Village, which has been built specially for these Olympics, includes 9,000 rooms in 42 buildings spread over a 66-hectare site and is capable of housing 17,000 guests.
The apartments are so comfortable that they are expected to sell for around $1 million after the Games conclude.
A few superstars have opted not to stay in the Village. Maria Sharapova booked other accomodation, prior to withdrawing because of injury, as has Roger Federer.
The NBA stars of the American basketball team will also be sleeping in five-star luxury downtown.
As US basketball Olympian John Stockton told the press at a previous Olympics: "We don't intend to make a whole lot of friends here. The Olympic spirit is beating people, not living with them."
That is not a sentiment shared by Murray.
"Quite a few of the tennis players are staying in hotels, but I don't understand why they're doing that. Having made the decision to play in the Olympics, I wouldn't want to be staying anywhere other than in the athletes' village."
"It will be a great experience to be around the best athletes in the world and to speak to some of them," Murray added.
"I think you've got to try and get involved with all of the other athletes. If you stay in a hotel it'll be more like playing the tennis tour, whereas I think the Olympics is something a bit bigger than that. I was always planning on staying in the Village."
The well-guarded complex is located in the Olympic Green area north of Beijing, about 20 minutes walk from the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube.
Not that any of the athletes or officials will have to walk; a dedicated bus service connects the Village with the venues.
About 4,000 staff are on hand to assist residents of the Village, which includes a medical center, supermarket, bank, post office, travel agency, internet caf and games arcade, not to mention tree-lined jogging tracks, a state of the art fitness centre and a 50m outdoor swimming pool.
There is also a Chinese culture exhibition and an Olympic Truce Wall to mark the Games' appeal for an end to international conflict. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has an outreach program on site.
But it is the dining area that impresses most people. The dining hall measures 19,000 sq m and has 5,000 seats, with five different zones, serving everything from European to Asian food.
The dining service operates around the clock and serves three tons of rice each day. Not surprisingly, Peking duck is the most popular offering.
Family and friends can mix with the athletes in the Village, but the sleeping quarters are off limits. The apartments themselves are air-conditioned and house between three and six people.
Many bedrooms are for two people but Murray and his brother managed to get singles to avoid a return to childhood room-sharing. Not all rooms have television sets but there are computers everywhere.
"The athletes' village is amazing. You'll never get bored. There's lots of stuff to do and they even make stamps of your face, which I've used to send postcards home," said British diver Tom Daley. "It's great to go into the food hall and see all the different sports stars from all over the place and be free to go and speak to them."
