Olympic villages lay on varied menus, fun leisure facilities for competitors

The principle of being centered on the athletes has enabled the Olympic villages of the Beijing Games to provide world-class services for them in terms of facilities, catering and entertainment, a senior official from the Beijing organizing committee said on Saturday.

"We hoped that our well-arranged services and high-tech operations could provide the best experiences for the athletes so they can enjoy the Beijing Games and bring about their best performances," said Shen Qianfan, director-general of the village planning and operation department of the Beijing organizing committee.

As introduced by Shen, besides providing warm and comfortable apartments for the athletes to live in, carefully designed menus and the arrangement of entertainment are also athlete centered.

Food and catering for the athletes involves a very complex system, and the Beijing organizers worked with nutrition experts from the International Olympic Committee to design the menus in the villages, which took about two years, Shen said.

"Athletes pay a lot of attention to nutrition and food, for example, how many calories per 1,000 grams, how much fat, and what are the potential allergens in the food," Shen said.

According to Shen, the dining halls of the Olympic villages operate 24 hours a day, providing hundreds of dishes with the menus rotating every eight days.

"We provide international, Asian, Chinese and halal cuisines and food safety is guaranteed," he said.