The International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said on Friday that the role of the IOC is to organize the Olympic Games.

He said it's a sports association, not a political organization.

Earlier this week, Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg resigned as artistic advisor to the Games alleging that China was doing too little to help settle the Darfur crisis.

Rogge said Spielberg would have contributed to the opening ceremony, but his absence won't harm the quality of the Games.

Slovenian Sports Minister Milan Zver, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said sport should not be used as a political weapon and a boycott of the Beijing Olympics should be avoided.