The Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) and The Royal Parks on Tuesday announced collaborative plan to run a continental house’ at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

The venue will be located the Kensington Gardens.

A statement released in Abuja, headquarters of ANOCA, said the 53 National Olympic Committees of Africa would have the opportunity to come together to host a joint ‘national house’ that would be free for the public to access.

It said the Africa House as it would be known, would open between July 27 July and August 12, 2012.

It said: “The ‘Africa House’ will showcase culture, art and sport from across the continent, giving visitors the chance to explore and learn about Africa for free.

“The site, which has capacity for 2,000 visitors at one time, will be located next to the Albert Memorial and will feature exhibition stands, performances and restaurants”

The statement added that African Olympic athletes would be the guests of honour at the ‘Africa House’ and each evening, African medal winners would head to Kensington Gardens to celebrate and to meet with fans.

“This will be the first time that African athletes will have a House in which to fully celebrate being First ever ‘Africa House’ to set up at an Olympic Games.

“The African culture would be showcased in Kensington Gardens during as part of the Olympics and to share their love of sport with visitors from around the world”.

Lassana Palenfo, President of ANOCA, said: “We created Africa House to offer the National Olympic Committees and African athletes a unique opportunity to fully participate in the great Olympic festivities, whatever their means.

“This area will act as an exceptional showcase for our continent, in the eyes of the public at large; the 8 million visitors expected during the Games and also decision makers from around the world.

“A big thank you goes out to The Royal Parks for assisting us in this.

“We are extremely proud that for this world’s first, Africa House will benefit from being located in such a prestigious environment”.

Mark Camley, Chief Executive of The Royal Parks said: “The Royal Parks is excited that Kensington Gardens has been chosen as the ideal location to showcase the African continent for the first time during the Olympics.