By Tom Degun at the Team GB House in Westfield Stratford City in London

TeamGB Lounge_for_nearest_and_dearestJune 21 - The British Olympic Association (BOA) have officially unveiled the Team GB House for London 2012, complete with a special P&G Nearest and Dearest Lounge designed to allow athletes to spend time with their family and friends directly after their competitions.


The private lounge, with no media access, has a secure route for competitors to reach it directly from the Athletes' Village.

Samples of P&G products will be available in the lounge alongside complimentary food and drink to provide the best possible environment for British athletes and their loved ones.

Kate O'Sullivan, the Olympic Programme director at the BOA, revealed that Team GB House will be a key benefit for most British athletes competing at the Games.

"The P&G Nearest and Dearest Lounge is ultimately aimed at helping athlete performance," she told insidethegames.

"Athletes will book their nearest and dearest in to visit the space so the meetings with their loved ones are on their terms and when it's beneficial for them.

Nearest and_Dearest_Team_GB_House_Lounge_June_21
"Obviously setting up a Team GB House at a home Games presents a lot of logistical challenges but we are delighted with what we have created and that we have a space that will be of huge benefit to the athletes during what will be the most important event of their lives."

As well as the lounge, Team GB House also includes a Main Operations Centre, hospitality space and a special Media Centre, to be used primarily by non-accredited media.

"We obviously had a huge amount of media requests for the Games that we were unable to facilitate due to huge demand," BOA director of communications Darryl Seibel told insidethegames.

"But this provides us with a great chance to allow the majority of those who were not accredited the chance to get close to our athletes and ask them those important questions directly.

"Given the scale of the Olympic Games, our athletes felt they would be missing out if they didn't get to speak with as many people from the media as possible so we are delighted with have this fantastic venue in place to facilitate that."

Following the conclusion of the Olympics Games, Team GB House will be handed from the BOA to the British Paralympic Association (BPA), at no cost, to become ParalympicsGB House for the Paralympic Games.

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