Olympic Village, Seen from Science World, Vancouver 2010

© Leslie Hossack

Pedestrian Bridge, Olympic Village Looking East, Vancouver 2010

© Leslie Hossack

Today marks the official opening of the Games of the XXX Olympiad in London. Over 200 nations are expected to participate, with over 10,000 competing athletes. By contrast, 82 countries participated in the XXI Olympic Winter Games in 2010 in Vancouver, with approximately 2,600 athletes taking part.

These two photographs were taken at the time of the Winter Games. The 2010 Athletes’ Village in the heart of Vancouver and the 2012 Olympic Village in East London have much in common. These are no ordinary communities. Normally, we create purpose-built structures, but Olympic city planning is not the norm. Initially these villages would operate as the world’s most exclusive communities for elite athletes from around the globe.

During the 2010 games, the Olympic Village in Vancouver accommodated over 2,800 athletes and officials. The area, now called the Village on False Creek, consists of over 1,000 residential units. Some of the condos are still for sale today.

The London Olympic Village contains 11 residential areas, each made up of five to seven blocks. There are apartments for approximately 17,000 athletes and officials during the 2012 games. After, the village will be transformed into 2,818 housing units in this new residential neighbourhood known as East Village.

To see my photographs of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Village, please visit my website: lesliehossack.com. My images of the London Olympic site will be posted here on Haute Vitrine in the future, along with photographs of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Stadium which I documented in June 2012.