When the clock strikes midnight around the world, January 1 2004 will mark the beginning of an Olympic year. With the Olympics less than eight months away, Athens, the site of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, has been having its ups and downs.
On Monday the national press agency ANA reported that funds from Athens 2004 organizing committee and the Greek government for construction projects had been temporarily frozen. But now Greek government officials say that the necessary funds for the construction companies will be available within the next few days. Meanwhile the companies involved had to get bridge financing to cover the lack of funds.
Airport security is one of the key concerns for ATHOC organizers and now a former security head claimed Tuesday that security personnel at Athens International Airport lacked the expertise needed to handle the increased responsibilities for the Olympic Games. Panayiotis Tassopoulos, who quit his post in August, told a newspaper that there was a “tragic” lack of coordination between the airport and security planners. But an airport spokesman said there weren’t any problems. The official said that “all personnel are adequately trained and have long experience”. The spokesman didn’t want to be identified. Athens plans to deploy about 50,000 security personnel, including 16,000 soldiers, during the Olympics.
Ongoing problems haven’t put a damper on the impending Games. Greece fell behind in its schedule three years ago, but Wednesday a top Olympic official said that Greece has completed all the work planned for this year with some projects ahead of schedule. Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos told the press, “we succeeded with intensive efforts and coordinated and substantial work to complete 100 percent of our program for 2003. In some cases we exceeded 100 per cent by speeding up projects and our actions”. International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge appeared to be cautiously optimistic when he said Tuesday that the IOC was confident preparations were on course, but organizers would still face “difficult days” in the eight months leading up to the Games, calling it an “inspiring task”.
In a message for the New Olympic Year 2004 IOC President Jacques Rogge said the legacy for all of Greece will be tremendous. He added, “we would like to thank the Greek people, ATHOC, the government and all those who have volunteered their help. The world is waiting impatiently to come back to the roots of Olympism”.
