ATHENS, 5 August 2003 — The 2004 Athens Olympics will be “the best in history” International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge has predicted.

“I’m sure that the Athens Olympics will be the best in history in most areas,” Rogge told the Greek daily Ta Nea yesterday.

He admitted that six months ago he did not believe that the difficulties and delays could be overcome in time for the event which take place almost a year from now.

“I can now express my complete satisfaction on the progress of preparations for the Games in Athens, progress in all areas is clear,” he said. “I can now say plainly that you will organize a great Olympiad in 2004.”

But on the question of the Olympic village, Rogge warned that it “needs particular attention. The Organizing Committee has to bring forward its efforts on this so that there is no embarrassment and everyone has a high level, comfortable stay.”

He also stressed that transport had to be perfect. “It’s one of the risky issues to which the IOC is paying particular attention,” added the IOC president, recalling that in the past, organizational problems saw athletes arriving late at competitions.

Olympic Test Events: Athens’ Grand Rehearsal One Year off the Games

Athens 2004 Olympics organizers stage a series of test events throughout August in order to check that everything will be in place next summer when the real Games kick off, hoping to quell worries to the contrary.

After all the criticism that has come their way about construction delays — which have even led to the postponement of some test runs scheduled for this summer — the Greeks are well aware the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the international sports federations and the worldwide media will painstakingly examine the events to expose the slightest hiccup.

Greek Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos, the government’s chief Games overseer, admitted the seven test events were a “crucial moment” for the Olympics’ preparation.

Seven competitions will be played out under real conditions: rowing, archery, equestrian, canoe-kayak flatwater racing, cycling, beach volley and sailing.

“It is about testing facilities, volunteers, the organization as well as technology from A to Z,” said Marton Simitsek, a chief executive of the Athens Olympics Organizing Committee (ATHOC).

“The aim is to identify potential errors or deficiencies , which will then be analyzed in order to be avoided at Games-time,” the ATHOC said in a press release.

More than 2,000 athletes will take part in the seven test events. Construction work has not entirely finished in most venues in which the events will take place.

Despite this obvious setback in terms of television images, ATHOC insists the facilities are already up to the level required by the athletes. The downtown Panathinaikon Stadium, where the first modern Olympics took place in 1896 and which is to host the archery competition on Aug. 9-16, offers the picture of a worksite as its huge marble seat rows are still being renovated.

Works are also underway at the Schinias basin to the north of Athens, where test events begin with the Junior Rowing World Championships on Aug. 6-9. The rowing competition will unfold under the watchful eye of chief IOC inspector Denis Oswald, who at the same time serves as president of the International Rowing Federation (FISA). Schinias will also host the canoe-kayak flatwater racing test event on Aug. 15-17. A new layer of cement is to be sprayed onto most of downtown Athens roads, on which the cycling test event will take place on Aug. 15-17.

The European and Greek Cycling Federations, who organized the European Juniors’ Cycling Championship, did not want to risk scenes of cyclists crashing on Athens’ roads — notorious for its potholes and slippery composition.

The rehearsals for rowing, canoe-kayak and beach volley (the latter a challenger men’s tournament on Aug. 19-24) will also serve as a security check-up.

Around 2,700 policemen, soldiers and firemen will be deployed to guarantee security “on an Olympics level”.

“Olympics level” also applies to equestrian (Aug. 15-17), and beach volley.

Spectators will be admitted to the tournaments for free, but access will be limited to a few hundred viewers for each competition.