Main Press Centre For London 2012 Opens

KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 (Bernama) -- The main press centre (MPC) which will host up to 6,000 accredited members of the media during the London Olympics has officially opened. The MPC provides 31,000 sq metres of office space across four floors of workspace for journalists, photographers, accredited non-rights holding broadcasters, as well as International Olympic Council and London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) staff during the Games. LOCOG chair Sebastian Coe noted that like the athletes competing at London 2012, the world's writers and photographers who would be based at the MPC were at the top of their profession. "We'll offer them state-of-the-art facilities so that they can tell the extraordinary stories that will come out of the Games," he said in a statement issued by the British High Commission here on Friday. "This is our first venue on the Olympic Park to open for business and we're ready to welcome the world’s media to set up their office," he added. Across the Games, it will open for 52 days, with the Catering Village serving an estimated 480,000 meals and 1.6 million cups of tea, 24 hours a day. It also features a 200m-long High Street comprising a range of shops and services, including a post office, dry cleaners, pharmacy and general store. London will host the Olympics from July 27 to Aug 12. -- BERNAMA