Following a three-day inspection of the 2004 Olympic Games organization in Athens, the IOC Coordination Commission said that new energy and synergy among the organizers, both private and public, has resulted in steady progress in all aspects of Olympic Games preparation.
Dennis Oswald, head of the IOC inspection team, said the situation has changed tremendously, but he warned against complacency. “I think everything is still feasible. We just have a tight schedule and have to follow very closely the progress of the work”.
Oswald identified at least two sites at the former international airfield that could still pose problems – the canoe and slalom centre and a basketball arena.
Oswald said, “the progress in construction is both obvious and encouraging, as is the new level of collaboration achieved among the organizers. The time pressure remains, as you can’t add pages to the calendar, but the enhanced synergy bodes well for continued progress. The fact is the core of the Games organization – management of the needs and services for the athletes – is now quite healthy, and we remain confident our Greek friends can deliver the other elements needed to organize magical Olympic Games”.
Other concerns are the completion of planning for accommodation for official delegations and required personnel as well as for spectators; the acceleration of the construction of the hockey venue; the on-time delivery of all planned road projects; and the continued coordination of the government’s security planning.
The latest inspection was so positive that even Alex Gilady, an IOC critic of Athens’ efforts, softened his views. “We can say that we start to see light at the end of the tunnel”, he said.
In the coming months, working groups of the IOC Coordination Commission will continue to meet periodically with their ATHOC counterparts, and the entire commission will officially reconvene in Athens in September.
In a related development, Greece’s Socialist government just barely received parliamentary approval Thursday for a village that will house 4,000 journalists near the main Olympic complex.
