Rio de Janeiro's Olympic Village will cost five times more than the amount included in the city's bid -- but "promises to have high-quality features for the delegates that has never been seen before in the history of the Games," according to Tiago Leme of ESPN. The Village is located in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood and has been "called 'Pure Island.'" The 31 buildings will consist of 3,604 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. In addition, the space will have "parks, gyms, movie theaters, pools, saunas, sports courts" and artificial ponds. To ensure that these amenities were included, the Rio 2016 organizing committee concluded in '14 that it "will have to pay" R$254.9M, five times more expensive than the R$51M "forecast in the bid" that was finalized in '08. Rio Olympic Village spokesperson Maurício Cruz said, "The big surprise for the athletes will be the fact that it is a different concept than the previous Olympics. ... We're offering the Village in a different way, with high standards. That will be the big surprise for athletes who have already been in different Villages. There is no comparison, it's way better in relation to the others, including the one in London." Cruz said that there was an "error on the amount included" on the Olympic bid, but the construction team "did not participate in that estimate" (ESPN, 7/7).
