London's Olympic Village now open for athletes

(CBS/AP) London mayor Boris Johnson made a final inspection and cut the ribbon Thursday on the Olympic Village for athletes that will be accepting its first visitors this weekend.

Built just for the 2012 Summer Games, the village is expected to house some 17,000 athletes and officials during the two-week Olympics that open July 27 and the Paralympic games that follow.

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The village is in the east end of the new Olympic Park and close to main stadium and the swimming venue.

Every room will have two single beds, bedside tables, small lamps, a TV and wireless Internet hookup. The beds, however, measure only five feet, eight inches, the Associated Press reports, meaning many athletes will need extensions.

In addition, there is a dining hall for 5,500, shops, medical facilities, a gym, a game room, stores, restaurants and indoor and outdoor lounging areas. There is also high-speed shuttle service to other Olympic venues and the rest of London.

When the Olympics are over, the village will be converted to 2,800 new homes, about half of them affordable homes.