Athletes' village of Tokyo Games unveiled to media

A general view of the athletes' village for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, June 20, 2021. /CFP

The Athletes' village for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics was unveiled to the media on Sunday along with enhanced COVID-19 protocols.

Covering an area of 44 hectares, the village in the Harumi waterfront district of Tokyo includes 21 residential buildings and will host some 18,000 athletes and officials from all over the world during the Games that will begin on July 23. There are a total of 3,800 condominiums in the residential buildings. Each has two beds per room and can hold up to eight people.

These residential buildings are planned to be renovated and converted into apartments when the Tokyo Games are over.

A general view of the fitness center in the athletes' village for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo, June 20, 2021. /CFP

The Village Plaza inside the village will feature a cafe, florist, bank, photo studio, a store selling official Olympic merchandise, a post office, and a dry cleaner to serve the athletes. There will be welcome ceremonies as well for athletes when they arrive and before they depart to attend competitions.

The location of the village is only six kilometers from the main stadium for the Games for east accessibility for para-athletes.

According to the organizing committee, athletes are allowed to bring alcoholic drinks into the village when they stay there. Drinking in public or common areas will be prohibited, but they can have alcoholic drinks in their private rooms.

A general view of the residential unit in a residential building in the athletes' village for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo, June 20, 2021. /CFP

Athletes will have to wear a mask when they are in the village except when they are eating, drinking, and conducting social distancing. They will dine at tables with transparent acrylic panels in the main dining hall. Coronavirus testing happen on a daily basis.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) revealed that 75 percent of the prospective 18,000 village residents have either already been vaccinated or are scheduled to be vaccinated. Moreover, that ratio will surpass 80 percent when the Olympics begins.

Japanese athletes began getting vaccinated on June 1. The IOC has provided its Tokyo counterpart 40,000 doses of Pfizer Inc.'s vaccine. Working staff and volunteers in the village and competition venues, plus accredited media and health workers, are all eligible for inoculation.