Digital communications, a single operations centre, and aerial and electronic surveillance will further enhance security operations at the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games. The Italian government says that more than 10,000 police officers will provide security for 15 sports venues, three athletes’ villages and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies at the Olympic Village.
Sunday anti-globalization activists held up the Olympic torch relay again as it passed through Milan. Demonstrators blocked the Via Rospiglioso with a heavy chain forcing the group ferrying the flame to come to a stop. Police intervened to clear the obstruction, and the protestors fled hurling snowballs at the relay entourage and police.
The Olympic Charter bans athletes from opening Web logs (blogs) during the Games and violators will be disqualified. Shin Taira, head of the Japanese Olympic Committee’s business publicity department said, “we are in trouble because there is no clear-cut standard to just to what extent journalist activities are allowed, but diaries and detailed reports are no good during the Olympics period”. The company managing the homepage of a figure skater said it has been instructed by the Japan Skate Federation not to renew it during the Games. A company source said, “it is better not to do suspicious things. Still, there are problematic issues such as whether a homepage is a journalistic activity and whether things other than diaries cannot be renewed”. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) began regulating athletes’ journalistic activities in 1992 when American track-and-field athlete Carl Lewis reported his first impression to a newspaper by mobile phone as he entered the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Barcelona Games.
Speaking of blogs, about.com and NBC Olympics are teaming up to blog the Turin Games. According to the about.com Web site, host James Martin is interested in the public’s submissions during the next few weeks on the kinds of stories not seen on television involving famous athletes or interesting people who come from the “far corners of the earth”.
