Pyeongchang, Jan 25 (IANS): With the PyeongChang Winter Olympics just around the corner, organisers said Thursday the two athletes' villages are ready to greet participants, with visitors expected to start moving in this week.

While official welcoming ceremonies will start on February 1, advance teams from different countries will move to the villages starting Friday, the PyeongChang Organising Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games said, reports Yonhap news agency.

South Korea prepared two villages for the 2018 Winter Games, with the PyeongChang Village serving athletes performing at snow events in the host town of PyeongChang, located 180 kms east of Seoul, and nearby Jeongseon.

Athletes performing in ice events such as hockey and skating will be accommodated in the Gangneung Olympic Village, east of PyeongChang.

The PyeongChang Village has eight 15-story buildings, which amounts to 600 units. The Gangneung counterpart has nine 25-story buildings, or 922 units.

The villages will have various facilities for athletes, including banks, post offices, convenience stores, laundry rooms, gyms and religious centers.

The committee is also planning to host various cultural events, including dance performances, to entertain athletes during their stay.

The organising committee added that athletes are allowed to take the blankets in their rooms back home as gifts. The special blankets are inscribed with pictograms of different winter sports.

"We have prepared 3,300 blankets for the PyeongChang Village, and 2,600 for the Gangneung Village," an official from the committee said, adding that each costs around 70,000 won (US$65.8).