olympics

BEIJING 2008: Final Coordination Commission Ends
4 April 2008
The International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Coordination Commission for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games yesterday concluded its tenth and final meeting with the Beijing Organising Committee (BOCOG) confident that BOCOG is on the right track with its preparations for this summer’s Olympic Games, which begin in only 127 days. The Commission, which is the body appointed by the IOC to oversee the operational aspects of the Games, spent three days (1-3 April) in the Chinese capital helping to guide the organisers as they work to put on successful Games this August.
Gold Medal Performance
Commenting at the conclusion of the meetings, Coordination Commission Chairman Hein Verbruggen said, “BOCOG is progressing well with all of its operations and we are confident that our Chinese friends will put on great Games for the athletes of the world. The IOC noted an increased level of support from the government authorities for the Organising Committee, which will undoubtedly help reinforce BOCOG’s excellent work. We were satisfied by the assurances we received across a number of areas – media service levels, including internet access, brand protection, environmental contingency plans for improved air quality, and the live broadcast feed. BOCOG must now fine-tune its operations over the final four months; an ability to act as an integrated team, with straightforward processes to enable timely decision-making, will be extremely important. There is every reason to believe that a gold medal performance is within its grasp and that the world will marvel at superb Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
Welcoming The World
Continuing his comments, Verbruggen said, “This being our last Commission meeting – although of course I will return with a smaller team in the coming months – allow me to say it has been a pleasure to work with President Liu Qi and his team. BOCOG has worked relentlessly for nearly seven years now. They, plus the Chinese people, who are so excited about welcoming the world to their country, and of course the world’s athletes, for whom the Olympic Games are staged first and foremost, deserve success and a great event this summer.”
44 Different Functions
In addition to working on some 44 different functions that are tracked as part of the analysis to gain a perspective of Games preparations – from sport, spectator services, venues and technology to finance, marketing and medical services - the Commission members spent time appraising the physical readiness by visiting the Olympic Green and some of the venues located in this area.
Beijing 2008The Games of the XXIX Olympiad – Beijing 2008 will take place from 8 to 24 August 2008. The Games in Beijing will play host to the 28 summer sports currently on the Olympic programme. Approximately 10,500 athletes are expected to participate in the Games with around 20,000 accredited media bringing the Games to the world.