Sydney shares Olympic wisdom
The success of the Athens 2004 Olympics will hinge on how the city will function during the Games, the chief organizer of the Sydney Olympics advised the government and the Athens organizers yesterday. Michael Knight, the former Minister for the Olympics of the Australian state of New South Wales, briefed at length the members of the interministerial committee which oversees progress in the organization of the Games, emphasizing the points which helped Sydney achieve success and diminished the success of the Atlanta Games. «Atlanta organized the athletic part competently, but its overall image suffered because the city, and especially transport, did not function… We, in Sydney, saw the Games as a whole, an event which involved our city around the clock,» Knight told the committee members, as well as reporters afterward. «The biggest challenge is to make sure that the crowds which throng the streets enjoy the event and the shared experience, without causing chaos.» Although not a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Knight participates in the IOC’s Coordination Commission, which begins a 3-day inspection tour today. Since the Commission’s last full visit, in September, substantial progress has been achieved in constructing a number of venues but schedules remain extremely tight. In one venue that will host several sports, the site of the former Athens Airport at Hellenikon, works have not begun yet. The issues of transportation and accommodation are still the IOC’s biggest concerns. Yesterday, Transport Minister Christos Verelis promised that the Athens suburban railway, to link the Athens center to the new airport, will be ready on time.
