The Rio 2016 Organizing Committee announced Thursday the 500-day mark from the inauguration of the Olympic and Paralympic Village. With construction 75% completed, the residential complex -- under construction in the Barra da Tijuca, in Rio de Janeiro's West Zone -- will be the home of the athletes during the competitions. The first athletes can "move in" 12 days before the Olympic Opening Ceremony, which is scheduled for August 5, 2016. Olympic and Paralympic Village Dir Mario Cilenti said, "The Village will be the first installation of the Games open to the athletes. It will have its doors open to welcome them at 9:00am from July 24, 2016 and its structure will be fully functional." The Village has been under construction since July '12 and occupies an area of 475,000 square meters (5.1 million square feet) and has 31 buildings, each with 17 floors. The 3,604 apartments and 10,160 rooms can house up to 18,000 guests. Cilenti: "Everything is running smoothly at the Village. We're working in partnership with the consortium Ilha Pura and we're counting on a highly qualified team, which has a lot of experience with past Games." The Village is being built around the Barra Olympic Park, which will be the heart of the Games (Rio 2016).
