Inside the Rio Olympics athletes' village

NZ Herald

24 Jul, 2016 11:30 PM4 mins to read

The head of the Australian delegation Kitty Chiller speaks during a press conference outside the Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro. Photo / AP

Images of exposed wiring, a fire device without hose and dirty floors have showcased why the Australian Olympic team have boycotted the athletes' village on the eve of the Rio Olympics.

Twenty-four hours before Australia's first athletes are expected to touch down in Brazil, the village continues to be plagued by problems.

Blocked toilets, leaking pipes, exposed wiring, darkened stairwells where no lighting has been installed and dirty floors have led the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) to deem their assigned apartment tower blocks uninhabitable.

Brazilian news outlet G1 has released images of the unfinished state of the Olympic Village.

Australian Olympic boss Kitty Chiller also revealed that in operations areas water has leaked through the ceiling, resulting in large puddles on the floor around cabling and wiring.

Photo obtained by Brazilian news outlet G1, which shows the unfinished state of the Olympic Village.

"Due to a variety of problems in the village including gas, electricity and plumbing, I have decided that no Australian team member will move into our allocated building," Chiller said in a statement.

"I will reassess the situation this evening.

Photo obtained by Brazilian news outlet G1, which shows the unfinished state of the Olympic Village.

"For over a week now AOC staff have been working long hours to get our section of the village ready for our athletes.

"For those athletes arriving in the next three days we have made alternative accommodation arrangements."

Photo obtained by Brazilian news outlet G1, which shows the unfinished state of the Olympic Village.

AOC staff had been due to move into the village on July 21 but have been forced to stay in nearby hotels.

Rio mayor Eduardo Paes reportedly told media that he plans to put a kangaroo in front of the Australian's building to make them feel at home

The New Zealand Olympic team will still move into the athletes' village today fixing some of the issues themselves over the past week.

New Zealand Olympic Committee Chef de Mission Rob Waddell says that while the village hadn't been completely ready when he arrived last week, the advance party had been well prepared, resilient and able to work together to deliver the apartments in time.

"We were disappointed the village wasn't as ready as it might have been when we arrived and it hasn't been easy. Our team has had to get stuck in to get the job done.

"We're pleased to say that thanks to the New Zealand team's planning, strong relationships and a bit of hard work we're ready for the first athletes to arrive today.

"Our next phase of set up is to visit the venues as the final overlay is completed and to check out transport and other facilities."

Members of the New Zealand rowing team were first to arrive overnight and didn't voice any major concerns.

Rowing gold medallist Mahe Drysdale posted an image on Instagram following his arrival with fellow rowers Eve Macfarlane and Zoe Stevenson - the first of the New Zealand team to arrive in the Olympic village.

"All is good, few finishing touches still to be made but when you arrive at 5am on opening day you can't expect it to be perfect," Drysdale said.