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IOC commends preparation for 2008 Games
(BOCOG)
Updated: 2006-05-19 09:40 (BEIJING, May 18) -- Chairman of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad Hein Verbruggen commended BOCOG on its preparation for the Games as its three-day plenary session drew to an end.
He described what he saw on his tour of the construction site of the Olympic venues as "impressive" at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday afternoon. The preparatory work is moving stably from the planning to operational phase, he noted. More thorough and deeper discussions were held between the Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) and the coordination commission, involving a variety of topics such as venue operations, cultural activities and media services. Commission members took the chance to visit the National Stadium, National Aquatics Center and others now under construction. Verbruggen rated the projects as "spectacular" in terms of their design, progress and quality. The combination of Chinese architectural concepts with high technologies demonstrates Chinese people's talent, he said. On the Olympic torch relay, he said it should be an important part of the 2008 Games in a country with a population of 1.3 billion. According to IOC rule, the torch relay route will be decided in early 2007. During his visit he founded that BOCOG had paid great importance to leaving the Olympic legacy to Beijing and China as a whole, Verbruggen went on. Venues, technology, environment and many other aspects of the legacy featured BOCOG's report. "For the first time we saw Olympic organizers pay so much attention to the Olympic legacy, and we are very pleased about that," he remarked. The Olympic education program that BOCOG and relevant departments are promoting also won praise form commission members. "That could be a precious legacy of the 2008 Games too," the chairman added. |
