London 2012: Olympics Africa Village closes amid rumours of debt

It's the first time all 53 African national Olympic Committees have come together to host one large-scale centre of activities.

The ambitious project was supposed to be a celebration of African cultures, with music, food and performance taking place day and night.

Although 80,000 people are said to have visited the venue since the start of the London 2012 Olympics, Africa Village was forced to close down yesterday.

It is being reported that Africa House owes a substantial sun to suppliers.

An emergency meeting will take place and it will be decided whether Africa Village can open later for Tunisia Day, which was supposed to happen today.

Communications director Laurent Bagnis refused to confirm how much money the Olympic hospitality house owes.

Asked if the figure was around the reported £395,000, he told the BBC: "We have a lot of figures. I don't know which is right at the moment."

A message posted on the Africa Village website today read: "Africa Village temporarily closed until further notice."

The Village’s lead agency Pixcom said the closure was for "technical reasons" but has not specified what they might be.

It’s been a bad 24 hours for Olympic hospitality houses. Last night  a fire in Kiwi House, the hospitality hub set up for New Zealand led to 300 people being evacuated.