Condoms ready for that other sporting event

Games chiefs have commissioned Durex to supply condoms to the Olympic sites and will provide an information programme with positive sexual health messages.

Free condoms have been delivered to Olympic villages since the Barcelona Games in 1992 to help raise Aids awareness.

In Beijing in 2008, there were 100,000 provided. Athletes could collect a pamphlet, with two condoms, from a sexual health clinic on site.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the athletes soon exhausted the 70,000 condoms provided and 20,000 more had to be ordered. Athens learned from that mistake and supplied 130,000 in 2004.

Many of the 10,500 athletes due to occupy the Olympic village will have time on their hands once they have been knocked out of their events. Jason Warriner, 42, clinical director at the Terrence Higgins Trust sexual health charity, said the Games will be "a real party season".

He said. "People will be out of their normal routine and have the opportunity to meet new people. The village is a competitive area and when teams win, there will be a definite boost in their confidence and a feelgood factor that means they might take more chances."

He added: "You do need to remember that not every person who takes a condom uses it, they may take it home as a memento. If half the people who took condoms used them, then we wouldn't have the problems we have."

Durex confirmed it will supply the village, while Games organising committee Locog said it was finalising arrangements, and "will be discussing the implementation of an educational programme and sexual health advice for athletes".