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Gathering pace Athens' preparations get vote of confidence from IOCPosted: Wednesday August 14, 2002 12:09 PM
ATHENS (Reuters) -- Greece received a long-sought vote of confidence for its 2004 Olympics preparations from international Olympic officials Wednesday and jubilant Athens organizers said a fair wind was taking them forward. After months of headlines questioning whether building and other deadlines would be met, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) switched gears to praise Athens for a new sense of momentum as the two-year countdown to the event started this week. "It was clear from the IOC's visit (to Athens) at the end of June that there is a heightened level of interest in the Games from the general public...," IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said in a statement to Reuters. "With two years to go before the start of the Games, momentum is very much gathering pace as ATHOC's organization moves from a planning to an operational phase." The statement signalled Greece had at last put behind it construction holdups and bureaucratic hurdles that at one stage had raised questions about whether the event should be moved. In a sign of the gathering momentum, organisers Friday stage their first dress rehearsal with a test of the sailing venue near Athens. Speaking at the sailing site, Athens Games President Gianna Angelopoulos, who more than anyone has kept preparations on track, said "a long and difficult distance" had been covered. "As the sails unfold we believe there will be a fair wind," she told reporters. "People will see the work done by modern Greeks and they will remember that the Games were born and revived here." Nearly 400 boats from 42 nations, including a host of the world's sailing elite, will take part in a fortnight-long test that will assess conditions such as wind and currents, course layout and target times in different classes. "It is an opportunity for Athens 2004 staff to obtain a hands-on experience to work as a team, to learn in practice, to implement and test our organizational and operational plans," Athens organizing committee (ATHOC) executive director Marton Simitsek told Reuters. Praise for Athens Earlier this week a senior member of the team that organized the Sydney 2000 Olympics also praised Athens after a visit to the Greek capital, home of the original games and host of the first modern Olympics in 1896. "Very good progress has been made on most of the venues with grandstands at rowing and equestrian half-completed," said Bob Elphinston, secretary general of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC). "A year ago the Olympic village site was just a dust bowl, today the construction of all of the buildings is essentially completed, just the fitout remains to be done," Elphinston, the Sydney Games organizing committee's general manager of sport in 2000, said in a statement. The IOC statement said while there was growing excitement both at home and abroad about Greece's ability to stage a "unique" Games because of its historical links, there could be no let up in preparations if the hopes were to be fulfilled. "There are still many months of extremely hard work ahead ahead, where particular attention must be focused in areas of venue construction, accommodation and transport but the commitment from all those involved to deliver successful games is stronger than ever," Davis said.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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