More Olympic volunteers
Athens 2004, the Olympics organizers are close to filling volunteer slots for the 2004 Games after receiving 47,168 applications so far, about 80 percent of their target, officials said yesterday. «Our target is to have more than 60,000 volunteers. About 15,000 will help with the Paralympics,» an Athens 2004 official told Reuters. Athens 2004 said 61.3 percent of the applicants are Greek residents, 12 percent are Greeks living abroad and 25 percent are foreigners. Women make up about 56 percent of those wishing to volunteer for the Games. The majority of the applicants, 73 percent, are aged between 18 and 34 and 80 percent speak English as a second language. A smaller percentage speak French, German, Spanish and other languages. «The portrait of the volunteer for the 2004 Olympic Games is that of a young, educated person that speaks a foreign language,» Athens 2004 said. Organizers will begin interviewing applicants and allotting assignments next year. (Reuters)
