IOC now sees ‘tremendous’ 2004 progress
For once, the praise upstaged the lingering concerns over preparations for the 2004 Athens Olympics following the customary three-day inspection visit by the International Olympic Committee’s Coordination Commission. Commission chairman Denis Oswald reminded his media audience yesterday that in about 10 days it will be the second anniversary of then-IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch’s famous «yellow light» remark implying that the delays in preparations had reached a state of alert and that Greece was in danger of losing the 2004 Games. «I am very happy to report that the situation has changed tremendously,» Oswald said. Oswald repeated his warnings about the tight construction deadlines, but when prodded about lingering problems in the preparation of the Games, he said that «there are no elements that do not work and which are not on track.» He added that several construction projects such as the weightlifting arena in Nikaia, the Schinias rowing center, the rhythmic gymnastics and table tennis arena in Galatsi, the media center, the Olympic Village and the equestrian center at Markopoulo, are ahead of schedule. Oswald said that two areas of concern «until the last moment» will be traffic and security. On the former issue, he once again appealed to the Athenians’ pride in their city and insisted on the need for «a very serious traffic management system.» On security, he said there were nagging problems resulting fromGreece’s prior undertaking that all accredited people should enter without a visa, a commitment made more difficult by the Schengen agreement allowing free movement within EU countries and the realization, after the terrorist attacks of September 11, that there needed to be tight border controls. «We count on (EU) governments working together and solving these issues.» On accommodation, Oswald was satisfied that rooms for almost all the officials had been booked, but appeared more skeptical about the prospect of accommodations for the hundreds of thousands of expected visitors. As he has said before, however, this is not an issue of IOC concern.
