Jan 27, 2012, 13:58 GMT
London - The Olympic Village was handed over to organizers Friday in a ceremony to mark six months until the start of the Games in London.
The 2,818 flats at the site will house 16,000 athletes and team officials during the Olympic Games, which run from July 27 to August 12.
Four-time Olympic rowing champion Sir Matthew Pinsent helped bring in the first of more than 16,000 beds that will be installed in the village.
'Athletes are at the heart of the London 2012 Games and our plans for the Olympic Village will provide them with a home-from-home as they prepare for one of the biggest sporting moments of their lives,' organizing committee chairman Sebastian Coe said.
World now begins on fitting out the apartments which are within walking distance of the stadium in East London.
After the Games the Village will provide new homes for Londoners, a mix of privately housing and local government-owned apartments which will be rented for subsidized housing.
Your Talkback on this Story