“It’s not a question of over-dramatising; the facts speak for themselves.†With these words the chairman of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) Jacques Rogge ended a lightning tour of the construction sites of Turin 2006, during which he met political leaders and staff of the organising committees of the next Winter Olympics. His inspection brought to light some worrying delays in some of the Games’ essential construction works, for example the bobsleigh run, work on which should have been underway for months. However, the “Alpine†organising committees can console themselves with the thought that work for the summer games in Athens 2004 is also behind schedule. In a press release, Rogge, accused of over-dramatising the situation, stressed that he had “confronted the organisers with objective facts: if work was supposed to start on the football stadium on 15 February, but in fact hasn’t started, I don’t think my comments can be regarded as over-dramatisation, can they? The Athens Olympics are due to start in 16 months. Turin is a different case, as we have more time, but there is still some cause for concern.†In particular, the IOC chairman would like to see more transparency in the chain of command – a request directed at all the institutions involved to increase their awareness of the level of emergency on the construction sites.
Rogge was asked if he is pessimistic about how the next winter Olympics are going to be run. “No, I’m very confident,†he replied. “If Turin can understand the importance of speeding things up and meet its commitment, the 2006 Winter Olympic Games will be marvellous. The IOC doesn’t have to review the schedules for Turin 2006, there’s no need for this. There are already natural deadlines – the test events. The structures for the Games, the technology, telecommunications, everything will be tested for the Games. These are the rules to be respected.â€
During his visit to Italy the IOC Chairman met Prime Minister Berlusconi and listed a series of priorities for the 2006 Winter Games. He dwelt on five points in particular: speeding up the completion of structures and infrastructures, raising the standard of Italian winter sports teams, improving cooperation between Toroc and Agenzia Torino 2006, publicising the Games in the whole of Italy with the help of the Rai (State television), and getting support from state bodies. Rogge said, “The Italian Prime Minister is very keen on sport and is a very intelligent man; he’s understood our requests and has assured us of his support. But it’s up to him and Foreign Secretary Frattini to find the answers.â€
