The P&G Family Home, located at the commercial visitor attraction Vinopolis, will be exclusive to the families of the 10,000 athletes competing at London 2012.

There is a particular emphasis on athletes' mothers due to the P&G "Thank You Mom" campaign around London 2012 and the Family Home will provide them with a location to relax and unwind with free luxury services, such as spas, available to them throughout the Games.

"We asked athletes what we could do to support them here in London and they told us that moms and families from around the world don't have a place to really relax and be together at the Games," said P&G's global brand building officer Marc Pritchard (pictured above, centre) at a press conference here.

"We have been in the business of serving moms and families for 175 years.

"So it makes sense for us to celebrate the athletes by serving their moms and families."

The P&G Family Home will include all the organisation's major products such as Cover Girl and Olay beauty treatments, a Pampers Playroom and a Tide/Ariel laundry service.

American slider Noelle Pikus-Pace and her husband Janson Pace play with their daughter Jacee at the P&G Family Home at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games

It will also offer meals and internet access to families and it has been backed by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge.

"P&G is making an important and unique contribution to these Olympic Games by creating a warm, welcoming space where the families of some of the world's greatest athletes can come together," said Rogge.

"Athletes can be reassured that while at the P&G Family Home their families will be well cared for, thus enabling them to focus on doing their best on the field of play."

The P&G Family House has also received a glowing endorsement from the mothers of some of the world's most famous athletes including Ileana Lochte (pictured top, second left), the mother to Team USA swimming star Ryan Lochte and Carol Hoy (pictured top, second right), the mother to Team GB cyclist Sir Chris Hoy.

"In Beijing, we had a great time, but sometimes struggled to find a place for a quick meal and to meet up with the families of other athletes competing," said Ileana Lochte.

"The P&G Family Home provides both of these resources, and I'm looking forward to getting to know moms whose kids compete in other sports and come from other countries."

Carol Hoy was equally full of praise.

"Every mum knows that encouraging your kids to play sports is not just about raising champions," she said.

"I was proud of Chris when he was a little boy winning the egg-and-spoon race, and I'm proud of him now as an Olympian.

"Thanks to P&G, I'll be there to cheer him on in the Velodrome, and visit him in the P&G Family Home."

To pay tribute to the mothers of the Games, P&G has also created a series of short videos that tell the story of what it takes to raise an Olympian as part of the "Thank You Mom" campaign.

More than 60 of these films are available here.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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