IOC issues highest praise yet for Athens’ Olympic preparations

The IOC late this week again gave Athens a hearty “thumbs up” for its intensely watched Olympics preparations, citing progress in every aspect while at the same time reiterating that deadlines are severely pressing, especially regarding a trio of vital projects. Top IOC inspector Denis Oswald began a press conference in the Greek capital on Friday by stressing that “things are getting serious, very close”, before saying that the Lausanne-based organisation is pleased with the answers it got this week in Athens regarding a handful of concerns.

With high-profile 2004 Organising Committee (ATHOC) President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki again at his side, Oswald stressed that “no slippage in venue deadlines” was discerned since the last IOC inspection two months ago. He also said the seven Olympic “test events” that took place in August were “successfully conducted” despite a smattering of “minor problems”, as he noted.

“We will be ready for the Games’ historic homecoming … We have 10 months and 34 sports (test) events before us. Our goal is the gold,” Angelopoulos-Daskalaki stressed in beginning her comments.

Completion of a state-of-the-art dome over the main Olympic stadium as well as two major transportation projects, a new tram line in southern Athens and suburban rail network further north, dominated the spotlight over the past three days, with both the IOC and ATHOC pressing the government, which in turn offered a latest round of firm promises that everything will be ready before the Games begin on Aug. 13, 2004.

“Time is, of course, the most important factor, especially in your last lap of competition. I think that ATHOC, the government and the IOC will have the stamina to cross the finish line successfully,” Oswald, the influential chairman of the IOC coordination committee for 2004 Games, said.

“It was really a shock to see how much work has been done in the three or four months … the Games for us begin much, much earlier,” he added.
Just as importantly, Oswald said Greek leadership -- including Premier Costas Simitis -- assured him that general elections next spring would in no way affect preparations for the Games.

Besides the Greek premier, main opposition leader Costas Karamanlis also received Oswald.

In other statements on Friday, Angelopoulos-Daskalaki said 1.7 million tickets have been sold so far, with revenue totaling 126 million euros. “We welcome this concrete expression of support from sports fans in Greece and around the globe,” was her remark.

Additionally, she said that four more venues will soon be ready: the Main Press Center and facilities for table tennis, gymnastics, judo and wrestling. The International Broadcast Center, the doping control laboratory, a residential zone surrounding the Olympic Village and the weightlifting hall in the Nikaia district are among the new venues recently completed.

In reaction to the latest reports about doping and efforts next year to combat the problem, Oswald said anti-doping measures are a top priority for the IOC, adding that the latest state-of-the-art technology is necessary.
On her part, the ATHOC president said Greek organisers definitely want “clean Games”.

“We are doing whatever has been asked of us by WADA and the IOC. We want the Athens Games to shine,” she said.
Finally, Angelopoulos-Daskalaki said more than 121,000 applications by would-be volunteers have been received.

PM Simitis receives Oswald

The entire spectrum of preparations was examined prior the press conference during Oswald’s meeting with Prime Minister Costas Simitis, with talks touching on the three projects cited as close to the “red zone”.

Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos and Angelopoulos-Daskalaki were also present at the meeting.  

Speaking afterwards, Venizelos said problems have been eliminated and that the OAKA dome, the tram network and the suburban rail line would be delivered on time.   

He said that Oswald was also briefed on a bill slated to be tabled on November that ties up all loose ends concerning 2004 preparations.   

Asked about the upcoming elections, Venizelos said Oswald was very aware of the fact that a national poll will not impede Olympics preparations, since the government views the Games not only as a national issue but also as a unique opportunity to showcase modern Greece to the world.
   "We shall not rest until the Games have ended," Venizelos said.

 
Karamanlis-Oswald meeting

Oswald held a 30-minute meeting with main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Costas Karamanlis a day earlier, with the latter stressing that his party also unequivocally supports the Olympic Games and considers their hosting in Greece as a national endeavour that must be promoted abroad.

The meeting was held in the presence of Angelopoulos-Daskalaki.
Karamanlis added that the Games must not be exploited for petty partisan gains, before saying that all indications show that ND will form the next government hosting the 2004 Olympic Games.

According to reports, Oswald said Olympic projects are on a good course, reiterating though that schedules are tight.

He further announced that his Coordinating Commission’s last inspection would take place at the end of May, something that means it will occur after the next general elections. No statements were made afterwards.

Contacts with other government officials

During the inspectors’ earlier contacts on Wednesday and Thursday, Deputy Culture Minister Nassos Alevras reassured the IOC experts that the ambitious OAKA dome would be ready on time.

“We are not losing even a day during the final months. Construction of the metal portions will be completed by the end of April and the entire project will be delivered by the end of June,” he said.

The metal-and-glass multi-component structure, designed by noted Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, is a “signature” project that Athens 2004 organisers and the government hope will serve as an architectural “landmark” for 2004 Olympic homecoming.

Referring to the project, Alevras said the dome’s skeleton will be ready by the end of April.

The government said the suburban rail would be ready by the end of May and the tram network by March.

Meeting with transport minister on mass transit projects

According to ministry press release issued on Tuesday, Transport and Communications Minister Christos Verelis briefed the Games’ executive director, Gilbert Felli, and the Lausanne-based organisation’s transport expert, Philippe Bovy, in detail over progress regarding both projects – considered crucial for the success of the 2004 Athens Games.

Verelis had reportedly requested the meeting in a letter to Oswald.
“We had a very detailed and in-depth conversation and we provided all the information we had to the IOC representatives about the course of progress for the suburban rail line and the tram,” Verelis noted.

The minister also said the lead contractors for the rail and tram projects – Ergose S.A. and Tram S.A., respectively – have been instructed to disclose information about progress of works to the press.

Finally, Verelis announced that rolling stock for the suburban rail line could initially be leased to meet deadlines, as the local Hellenic Shipyards are unable to guarantee delivery by August. He added, though, that electricity-driven engines would be used, and not diesel.

Focus turns to doping

During the latest inspection in Athens, Greek organisers and the IOC reportedly agreed that next year’s Olympics would be the first Games where a list of banned performance-enhancing substances will be in force, complete with customs restrictions at entry points.

The measure, part of efforts to combat doping, was among the topics discussed the same day along with briefings over a handful of programmes overseen directly by ATHOC – as opposed to venue construction, transports and security, among others, which are the government’s responsibility.

In a briefing for an IOC committee chaired by Dr. Patrick Schamasch, the organisation’s medical director, ATHOC officials promised to work with the Greek government so that listed performance-enhancing substances are banned from import into the country.

Officials want the list, compiled by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the IOC, to come into effect on Jan. 1, 2004, while noting however, that no legal framework currently exists in Greece to ban the import of such substances.
ATHOC has promised to carry out 2,321 urine tests on athletes during the Athens Games, including 239 specialised urine tests on the first four contestants in each sport, particularly for Erythropoietin (EPO).

Other briefings covered sports federations, the city’s image during the Games, procurement contracts, marketing, health care and deadlines for completing the all-important International Broadcast Center. 

ATHOC chief, public works minister

inspect Goudi, Helliniko complexes

ATHOC chief Angelopoulos-Daskalaki joined Public Works Minister Vasso Papandreou for an inspection of two separate Olympic complexes in the greater Athens area early this week where a total of nine sports will be hosted next August.

The Helliniko Olympic Complex in coastal southeast Athens is built on land where the Greek capital’s former airport operated and one of the sites high on the International Olympic Committee’s list of concerns.

The entire Helleniko complex is budgeted at 173 million euros, with the canoe/kayak slalom venue’s completion deadline in March; the outdoor halls will be ready by February and the indoor halls are set for completion by May – roughly three months before the Games begin on Aug. 13.

The Goudi complex, located in residential east Athens, will host badminton and the modern pentathlon competitions during the 2004 Games. The 33-million-euro project is set for completion by March 2004.
Papandreou, meanwhile, fielded a question over the so-called “metropolitan park” that the government promised to create in the densely populated Greek capital on land vacated by the airport and two sparsely use airfields in the same area, saying that “a portion (of the land) is already being built on. A master plan will be developed, while it will be competed after the Olympic Games.”
 

Triathlon ‘test event’ in Vouliagmeni this weekend

Athens 2004 organisers are bracing for the second phase of Olympic “test events” this year, with the international triathlon competition commencing on Saturday at the Olympic Centre in Vouliagmeni, an upscale coastal district southeast of downtown Athens.

Another round of test events are scheduled until January, following the holding of seven Olympic test events in August, tournaments that received mostly high marks by the IOC.

In addition to the triathlon competition, the Athens marathon is set for Nov. 2 on the “classical route” that will also be followed during the Olympics; weightlifting is scheduled for Dec. 9-10, and modern pentathlon on Dec. 13-14. Judo, wrestling and table tennis (ping-pong) test events will be held in January 2004.

A third phase is planned for February through April 2004, while the final phase will be held from May through June 2004.

The increasingly popular triathlon, which made its Olympic debut at the Sydney 2000 Games, includes a 1,500-metre swim, a grueling 40-kilometre cycling course replete with a 200-metre climb. A 10-kilometre run on flat ground completes the truly Herculean event.

The start and finish lines for the swimming portion will be at Oceanida Beach, with both the cycling and running competitions carried out in the wider Vouliagmeni zone.

In order to accommodate the test events, temporary traffic measures will be implemented at the Vouliagmeni zone on Friday – the athletes’ training day – and on Saturday.

Turkish FM Gul signs ‘Olympic Truce’ declaration

Visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul added his signature to those of several other dignitaries who have signed the “Olympic Truce” Declaration, during his official contacts in the Greek capital this week.

Gul signed the declaration during a brief ceremony in the presence of his Greek counterpart George Papandreou, Angelopoulos-Daskalaki and Culture Minister Venizelos.

The Olympic Truce is an initiative promoted by the IOC that has Athens’ full backing. Among the first signatories were Papandreou and then Turkish FM Ismail Cem in November 2001.

“… We have examined various issues and primarily the issue of security, as well as everything else that can be done to support Greece in this effort (Olympics),” the Turkish foreign minister said, adding: “Turkey has formed a special team to study the matter and final decisions will soon be issued toward a cooperation agreement”.

“If we can stop war for 16 days, maybe at some point we may be able to have peace forever. The cooperation of the two countries can become an example for the whole world,'' Papandreou noted.

Security and cooperation in the tourism sector are expected to dominate bilateral Greek-Turkish contacts for the upcoming Games, government officials said.

The Turkish foreign minister had toured several 2004 Games-related venues earlier in the day around the Greek capital by helicopter.
He later predicted that the 2004 Olympics would be a success, a fact he said will also please neighbouring Turkey.

On his part, Papandreou reminded that the 2004 “Olympic Torch” relay will pass through Istanbul.

 
Main opposition party says

Olympic projects in the provinces being cut

The main opposition ND party sharply criticised government this week, charging that it had lost control of the Olympic budget.

“We were informed by the government spokesman of 129.7 million euros in cuts for preparations at four Olympic cities in the provinces, although no justification was provided,” ND deputy Fani Palli-Petrallia said.

Palli-Petralia, who heads her party’s Olympic Games sector and also served as a sports deputy minister in the early 1990s, also charged that a lack of financing has halted certain Olympic projects in the provinces.

In response, the government denied the ND deputy’s allegations, saying no Olympic projects in the provinces have been eliminated or scaled back.
Four “Olympic cities” around Greece -- Patra in the western Peloponnese, Volos in central Greece, the major northern port city of Thessaloniki and Irakleio on Crete – will host the soccer preliminaries for the 2004 Olympic Games.

Conference on Olympic education held in Athens

ATHOC this week concluded the first-ever European symposium on Olympic Education at its headquarters, an event held in association with the European Commission.

“It greatly pleases us that this programme will be the basis of Olympic Education throughout Europe and perhaps, throughout the world,” Athens 2004 COO Ioannis Spanudakis told participating delegates.

A joint effort by the Greek education ministry ATHOC aims to introduce a weekly lesson about the Olympic movement and ideals in junior high schools and high schools around Greece.

Furthermore, representatives of the education and sport ministries of all 25 European Union member-states and acceding-states, as well as the three European Fair Trade Association (EFTA) members -- Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland -- sealed international recognition of the Olympic Education programme with the signing of the “Athens Declaration”.

“If we want to promote Olympic Values, such as team spirit, solidarity and noble competition, sports associations must play an active role in maintaining and promoting these fundamental values of sports”, European Commissioner for Education and Culture Viviane Reding said in a videotaped message.

Among others, the Athens Declaration highlights the importance of teaching Olympic values in schools “as an effective way of bringing about peace in the world by educating young people about the ideals of democracy, tolerance and active citizenship.” 

In brief …

  Culture ministry general secretary for the Olympic Games Costas Kartalis this week briefed a delegation from the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Institute on progress and preparations for the 2004 Games. The delegation visited Athens within the framework of bilateral contacts between the Chinese institute and the Institute of Strategic and Development Studies (ISTAME)-Andreas Papandreou Foundation.

Visa International, a grand sponsor for the 2004 Paralympic Games, this week announced that it will sponsor the “Hermes-accessible choice” programme, intended to secure easy access for persons with mobility disabilities in restaurants, pharmacies and shops throughout Athens and the four other Olympic cities -- Thessaloniki, Patra, Irakleio and Volos.

The Athens News Agency (ANA) will become the 10th shareholder of the European Photography Agency (EPA) as of January 1, 2004, both agencies announced on Thursday. The EPA, established in 1985, began its new international photo service on May 1, 2003.
''Since then the EPA has become one of the most important international photographic services for the mass media in Europe,'' ANA general director Andreas Christodoulides said.
''We are very pleased to accept the ANA as the 10th shareholder of the EPA, following the national news and photography agencies of Austria (APA), Belgium (Belga), Germany (DPA), Italy (ANSA), the Netherlands (ANP), Poland (PAP), Portugal (LUSA), Spain (EFE) and Switzerland (Keystone),'' EPA board President Walter Grolimund noted.