Preparations on track for Beijing06.08.2007 11:00 SportsBy Nick Mulvenney BEIJING (Reuters) - Preparations for next year's Beijing Olympics are on track, organisers said on Monday, shrugging off concerns about food safety, pollution and accusations it has not lived up to its media freedom pledge. All Olympic venues -- with the exception of the showpiece "Bird's Nest" stadium -- would be finished by the end of the year and ticket sales were going well, said Wang Wei, executive vice president of the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG). "Generally speaking, preparations for the Beijing Olympics are smoothly marching forward in accordance with plans," he told a news conference ahead of Wednesday's start to the one-year countdown to the Games. "City traffic conditions and the environment have got better," he added. Jiang Xiaoyu, also a BOCOG vice president, said regulations introduced at the start of the year to ease reporting restrictions for foreign journalists had been well received. "We have already heard many different voices from many different sides, and we are mentally prepared for these voices to get louder and even reach a crescendo," he said. "The Beijing Organising committee welcomes reporters from around the world to objectively, fairly and comprehensively report on the Olympic preparation work," Jiang added. "We welcome even more constructive criticism on faults and problems. "But we absolutely oppose the politicisation of the Olympics, as this does not accord with the Olympic spirit." Continued... Source: reuters.comwww.alllee.com |
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