The Coordination Commission of the International Olympic Committee concluded its two-day inspection tour of Athens covering transportation, the Olympic Village, construction, venue operations and Olympic overlays, and accommodation.
The inspection team said that venue construction and transportation are still major worries, although the Greek government has finally hit “cruising speed”.
IOC official Denis Oswald described the preparations as a puzzle with missing pieces. He said, “time is still very tight. The delays, which have been accumulated from before, remain…The time to accomplish such a volume of work is still critical. Delays still exist, timetables are still tight”.
Oswald added, “we have to keep the pressure on and make sure that the speed, the cruising speed, they have reached now—which is the speed they should have had for a long time – will be kept”.
“If that cruising speed is confirmed…then we will meet the deadlines”, he said.
Oswald said his overall impression was “positive” and was pleased to see the once-delayed Olympic Village back on track.
Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, president of Athens 2004 Organising Committee, said at a press conference that “time remains the most important factor. There are only 994 days until the Games begin and 263 days until our first test event in sailing on the 12th of August next year. I must stress that there is no room for delay, no room for error. We must stay alert”.
Angelopoulos-Daskalaki said that in order to run each one of the 37 Olympic venues, the services of 40 different ATHOC programs, (e.g. transport, security, accommodation, ticketing, catering, accreditation, ceremonies, games services) will be integrated. In 17 days, 300 events and 28 Olympic sports will be organized and “we will train, manage and coordinate the efforts of 150,000 staff and volunteers”.
A number of key sports venues, including table tennis and weightlifting, must be built despite opposition from local residents.
Other problems include a major sports complex still to be built at Athens’ former international airport and an artificial whitewater course at the location for canoe and kayak events.
