SINGAPORE, 29 May 2004 — Security and anti-terror planning have become a dominant theme among cities vying to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, a senior International Olympics Committee (IOC) official said yesterday.
Ng Ser Miang said cities competing for the 2012 event could take a lead from Athens in handling security after Greece said this week it would shoot down any plane attempting to wreck the Games which start Aug. 13.
Greece said on Wednesday NATO surveillance planes would monitor the skies to prevent any repetition of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on US cities.
“Athens is the first Summer Games after 9/11, so the concern with all the needs for security have been heightened,” Ng, head of the 2012 IOC bid session, told Reuters. “Under the current circumstances, I think security is always a major issue, not just for Olympic Games, but for any major international meeting or events,” he said.
“The candidate cities, I believe, would treat this issue as one of the main issues as well.”
Paris, New York, Moscow, London and Madrid were accepted earlier this month as candidates to stage the Games in 2012.
The decision on who will host the world’s biggest sporting event will be made at Singapore’s Raffles City convention hall on July 6 next year. Ng also said television rights for the 2012 Summer Games already topped $1 billion, making it likely the event would be profitable.
