With the majority of athletes used to accompanying only direct competitors on their travels around the world, the Village offers a unique opportunity to mingle with sportsmen and women from different backgrounds.

The importance of creating a positive ambience in an athletes HQ certainly doesn’t appear to have been lost on the Baku 2015 organisers having visited the inaugural European Games’ very own version here today.

Baku 2015 has spoken of its dedication to making the Games athlete-focused and doing everything possible to ensure this historic event will set the standard for its successors, namely The Netherlands which will host the 2019 edition.

Welcomed by the Mayor of the Village, Elchin Safarov, who is also Baku 2015 corporate director, the media tour gave an intriguing insight into what the 6,000 athletes expected to compete in the Azerbaijani capital will experience during Games time from June 12 to 28.

Safarov explained to insidethegames how the finished product me and my fellow media members could see before us was more than two years in the making having initially rented out the premises in March 2013.

The 13-building complex is made up of 1,042 apartments, divided into 16 different types and containing a total of 7,510 beds and 1,303 en-suite bedrooms.

Athletes will enjoy large, spacious apartments and bedrooms, with the average three-bedroom apartment being 190 metres squared in size and the average bedroom 22 metres squared.

Divided into four zones synonymous with Azerbaijan; Wave, Flame, Carpet and Pomegranate, the Village will provide entertainment and cultural activities taking place at key times throughout the duration of the Games.

The Main Dining Hall, open daily from 5am to 11pm, offers a diverse range of nutritional and European food with light snacks available through the night, while the "Best of Azerbaijan" dining hall will serve up the host nation's interesting and original cuisine. 

As well as a fitness centre and swimming pool open to all residents, the Village also has three recreation centres open daily from 7am to 11pm, and four super recreation centres, open 24 hours-a-day with grab-and-go cafés free to all residents.

The super recreation centres also allow for athletes to play air hockey, snooker and table tennis, while golf simulators are provided by Azerbaijan’s National Federation for the sport.

For those keen to undertake less physically tasking activities in their spare time, there are famous board games such as Monopoly and Scrabble dotted around the place, while another firm favourite Jenga is on offer too.

Athletes certainly won’t want to be spending much time, if any at all, at the designated two-story Medical Centre but should the unfortunate scenario arise they will certainly be well looked after.

With pharmacists, dentists and ophthalmologists, to name a few, on-site, treatment for injuries and illnesses of all kinds is readily available. 

An additional building which features on the complex is the Administration Centre, providing services for the National Olympic Committees as well as rooms for them to hold meetings.

The aforementioned fitness centre lies between these four walls, housing an exceptional array of gym equipment including around 130 treadmills.

Delegations from a number of countries have already arrived while the remainder will join them in the coming days ahead of the official Opening Ceremony of the Athletes’ Village on Thursday (June 11).

The European Games’ Opening Ceremony will then take place the following day at the spectacular National Stadium, before the serious business starts next Saturday (June 13). 

By this time the athletes will be accustomed to their new surroundings and based on what I've seen today will be as well prepared as they possibly can be to begin their quest for medals at the European Games.

As seems to be the case with the Games as a whole, the Baku 2015 organisers have clearly thought about every last detail to ensure the athletes have a productive and enjoyable stay here.

With a strong influence from the London 2012 Olympics firmly embedded within the Baku 2015 European Games Operations Committee (BEGOC), it's not at all surprising given the success of those particular Games nearly three years ago. 

While BEGOC's claim that the Athletes' Village is "one of the best facilities ever created to accommodate athletes in the history of sport" is open to debate, there's no denying that it has set the benchmark extremely high for future European Games hosts.

Athletes' comfort is of paramount importance at any multi-sport event, allowing them to focus purely on the job at hand, and I think in this case there's very little reason for complaint on that front.