Regional Governor Mercedes Bresso plans to step up and help the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games. Plans for the Turin Games have been marred by cash problems and building delays.
Bresso said, “the building work is going well now, there have been some difficulties but now it’s all going according to schedule and all the construction will be finished by the end of this year’” reports Reuters.
Last year there were problems over a gap in the Olympic budget and prosecutors opened an investigation into possible bid fixing for building contracts. Tension between the head of Turin 2006 – a centre-left former mayor of Turin – and city authorities on one side; and centre-right regional and national governments on the other side further strained relations.
According to Reuters the probe into bid fixing for Olympic building works is still open and there have been reports of illegal labourers working on some of the construction sites.
Bresso, the former head of the Province of Turin said, “the people in charge of controlling these issues are verifying the reports. Of course we are trying to avoid any kind of irregularity”.
Her regional government will provide medical emergency services and transport during the Games, and is taking over some of the publicity for the Games. Bresso is also considering setting up a semi-private company together with stage agency Sviluppo Italia to manage the Olympic venues after the Games, for tourism and sports events.
She said, “international promotion so far has been totally insufficient”, adding that the Games should be used to advertise the region as a tourism and sports hot sport.
“The big challenge is to organize a successful Olympic Games, and for the world to recognize Piedmont as an efficient and beautiful region”, said Bresso.
