The biggest Volvo Ocean Race Village ever

Here is the first bunch of raw photos from the Volvo Ocean Race Village in Alicante. It is by the far the biggest ever built for the round-the-world race. The inaugural show will start in about 2 hours from now.

Part of the Village with the Telefonica and Ericsson boats. Alicante, 19 September 2008. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The Telefonica base. Alicante, 19 September 2008. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The Puma Racing base. Alicante, 19 September 2008. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The two Ericsson boats. Alicante, 19 September 2008. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The two Ericsson boats. Alicante, 19 September 2008. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The Telefonica lounge has direct views on the inshore race area. Alicante, 19 September 2008. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The Telefonica base could very well be one of the smaller America's Cup bases in Valencia. Alicante, 19 September 2008. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Putting the last touches on Telefonica Blue. Here's a quick quiz. What is the use of the blue circle on the stern of the boat? Alicante, 19 September 2008. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The Russian base. Alicante, 19 September 2008. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing