A state legal board approved government plans to deploy thousands of troops from the Greek military to provide security for the Athens Games. Greece’s defence minister Yiannos Papantoniou said the decision by the board clears the way to create a 10,000-member protection and patrol unit that will help police safeguard the Athens 2004 Games.
Athens 2004 has designated several themes for its products. The wide range of products promoting the Athens Games include board games, clothing, jewelry, umbrellas, hats, perfume, posters, artwork, glasses, sheets, tablecloths, towels, dolls and mascots. The items are priced no higher than those for similar products in other stores.
International swimming federation officials urged the Greek government Friday not to back down from plans to put a roof on the Olympic Games’ swimming stadium. International Swimming Federation President Mustapha Larfaoui said, “a roof is important for viewers and athletes. People can not stay under the sun. Everybody knows temperatures are very high in Athens in August”. Tilemachos Chytiris, spokesman for Greece’s Prime Minister, said Tuesday the roof was just meant to provide shadow for television cameras and was not vital to the stadium.
And finally, names of tourists who sign up to a rental program for about 3,000 private homes in Athens will be put into a lottery for about a dozen tickets for the two ceremonies. An ATHOC source told AFP, “at the moment, around 600 tickets have been put aside” for the lottery. The draw is designed to get tourists interested in the Olympic Games. The latest official figures show that ATHOC has sold 1.7 million tickets out of a total three million available over the Internet.
