The Olympic Village
As planned when they were built, the 1,032 apartments in the Olympic Village are all occupied today, providing a mix of both private and social housing for older people.
The Village was the first in Olympic history to provide free accommodation for athletes. Built in the Imai district of Nagano for an estimated cost of USD 315 million, it was completed in July 1997 and opened on 24 January 1998, two weeks before the Games began. It provided accommodation for 3,200 athletes from the 72 countries taking part in the Games.
In keeping with the Organising Committee’s environmental objectives, a series of recycling measures were introduced at the Village, including the dehydration and composting of food waste, which was packaged as fertiliser and handed out to visitors or used in planters. To keep costs down, the Organising Committee furnished rooms by renting or buying furniture used at other events, such as the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima and the 1995 Summer Universiade in Fukuoka.