Reuters reports that according to an environmental group, Athens organizers, the Greek government and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have already won a Olympic gold medal for the Athens 2004 Summer Games – the award for missed opportunities in 2004.
Dimitris Cravelas, head of Greece’s Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) said, “they dropped the ball in Athens. Lip service was paid to environmental protection and a golden opportunity has been missed”.
According to Reuters, Greece won the 2004 bid promising to address air and water quality, fragile nature and cultural areas, traffic and waste management.
Nikos Haralambidis, Greece’s Greenpeace director told Reuters, “Sydney got six marks out of 10, Athens will get one. Even if everything changes over the next year it’s too late”.
Critics say that basic environmental standards such as the use of solar power, non-toxic building materials, recycling and waster management have not been implemented in large complexes such as the Olympic Village, reports Reuters.
Although the IOC rewrote the Olympic charter in 1994 to enshrine sustainable development and responsibility on environmental issues, Haralambidis said the IOC had gone soft on environmental guidelines, failing to put pressure on Greek organizers.
Meanwhile Athens 2004 is starting a series of test events Wednesday with the rowing centre in Schinias, located about 30 kilometres northeast of Athens. Organizers said 557 athletes from 45 countries will participate in the four-day rowing championship.
Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos said the actual Olympic security system will not be tested, reports Associated Press. He said, “the needs of these test events are fully covered”.
