Venue Tour - Athletes' Village

The Athlete's Village is located about 15 minutes south of the center of Whistler. Perched atop a former landfill, 80% of the homes were sold at an auction before they were even built. This "venue" is definitely counted among the successes of the Vancouver 2010 Games, coming in under budget and successfully converting the methane gas produced by a nearby waste facility to provide 80% of the energy used.

All the houses have garages and driveways, but the athletes are not allowed to have their own cars during the Games to cut down on carbon emissions and encourage the use of public (or at least shared) transportation. Also, the kitchens in the houses have not yet been installed in order to force the athletes to eat in the dining tent. This ensures that the caterers' food does not go to waste, and encourages social interactions by the athletes.

Here are some exterior photos of the athletes' sweet digs.

Little Italy of the Athletes' Village!

L-R: Chile, Iceland, South Africa

New Zealand

Me with the moose in Team Canada's neighborhood!

USA!

In addition to the actual houses where the athletes live, there are other buildings providing anything the athletes may need...

One of the buildings that features many amenities to cater to the athletes.
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Classy black leather furniture was standard around WVL

There is a "water bar" for the athletes - how cool is that!?!

 

Chef de Mission tent - where meetings are held, not where press conferences take place

There is a hostel in the WVL (which I intend to stay in when I return to Whistler) that includes a T.V. room (pictured below), a mini movie theater, an interfaith worship center, internet stations, and other amenities in addition to guest rooms.

T.V. viewing room

Laptop station in the front part of the hostel. The windows look out into the WVL.

To give you more a sense of of the WVL, here's a map of the entire venue:

Areas 10, 4, 3, 11, and 17 are where the houses are. The parts printed in a lighter gray are back-of-house.

This section shows some more of the athletes' areas, including their retail shops (such as their own Olympic merchandise store, a bank and a post office), their recreation and leisure center, and the hostel.