“The Village”

In just over a week, Rio will play host to roughly 4,350 Paralympic Athletes all taking up residence that they will be calling it not only home, but “the Village”.

As of August 31^st the Paralympian Athletes from over 160 countries will be joined by some 3,000 Team Officials, Referee’s, Judges and other personal from various sports at the Village.

The Village is located in Barra da Tijuca in Western Rio near Barra Olympic Park, which is located close to the various venues at the Olympic Games.

Athlete’s first arriving will be the host Nation, Brazil as well as Cuba, Denmark, Great Britain, the Netherlands, the US and Canada.

It’s reported that some 2,500 individuals will be settling into their “home” in addition to a few Guide Dogs for the visually impaired Athletes.

Since the conclusion of the 2016 Rio Games there have been a series of changes to the Village so as to adapt the complex to fit the needs of all Paralympian Athlete’s.

All buildings in the Village were initially designed to a high quality of standards of accessibility so as to provide more space for wheelchair users.

Some beds, but not all have been removed from some of the double rooms, and chairs have been removed from the giant canteen or lunch room area.

In total there are 31 buildings and all have units are adapted (set-up) for people with an impairment or with reduced mobility.

As an additional measure of caution, it was a necessity to make wider doors, taller showers and larger or wider corridors and all lifts have been equipped for two wheelchairs located side-by-side.

In addressing the needs and possible requirements for the Athlete’s a healthcare company (Ottobock) is the official prosthetic and orthotic service provider for the Paralympic games, where they have an on-site specialist repair centre also located in the Village.

It’s reported that Ottobock has dispatched 18 tonnes of equipment and spare parts for Rio de Janeiro all in preparation for their role as the Official Technical Service Provider for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

We are hearing that the Ottobock team are expected to work more than 14,500 hours and complete more than 2,000 repairs, which is only an estimate and could increase in both areas.

Knowing that communication and safety are a necessity, we are hearing that over 9,000 people which include 2,000 volunteers will be working at the Village for the duration of the Paralympic Games.

Wishing all the Athlete’s nothing but success as well as safe travels.