A 60-metre blimp that looks more like a giant beach toy will be used to provide aerial images of greater Athens to help police direct the most expensive security operation in Olympic history at the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games.
The airship is expected to be named Phevos after Athens Olympic mascot.
Images from the blimp will be used together with video streaming from 1,300 new street and venue cameras, surveillance vans and nine police helicopters.
The airship, filled with non-flammable helium, is already fitted with dome-shaped sensors, including chemical “sniffers” and ultra-high resolution cameras that work at night, as well as intelligent detectors to pinpoint unexpected changes in image patterns.
George Spyrou, head of Airship Management Services Inc. based in Greenwich Connecticut and the company operating the blimp said, “we can zoom in on what’s going on. They might tell us to hover over a parking lot for 20 minutes because there’s someone we’re not sure about taking something out of his car. The advantage is that they’re very stable and can remain in the air for eight, 10, 12 hours without refuelling”.
In Athens the airship will spy on venues scattered around the city of more than four million residents, and the port of Piraeus, where luxury cruise ships will be moored for visiting dignitaries and Olympic officials.
The blimp is moved by propeller engines and operated by pilots in an undercarriage, which includes 13 passenger seats and a bathroom for long shifts.
A second airship has been leased to the U.S. television network NBC which has the American broadcast rights for the Games.
Meanwhile, organizers are trying to spruce up the city ahead of the Games with banners, balloons and ribbons.
Under the “Look of the City” program organizers plan to hang more than 20,000 banners, 900 decorative ribbons, 87,000 square feet of bridge covering material, 102,000 square feel of special materials for fabric banners to cover buildings and 12 illuminated inflated balloons for the centre of Athens.
Eight of Athens “aesthetically challenging” buildings will be covered with huge colourful photographs of ancient sites, stadiums, olive trees and monuments.
