The massive jolt in southwest China that feared to take more than 50,000 lives will not affect either the safety or the preparations of the Beijing Games, said a senior official with the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (BOCOG).
Local residents hold up a banner that reads, "Supporing Quake-hit Areas Equals to Supporting the Olympic Games" while watching the Beijing Olympic torch relay in Jinggangshan, East China's Jiangxi Province, May 15, 2008. [Xinhua] |
Preparations are "90 percent" ready, said Zhang Jian, director of BOCOG's project management department, a coordination unit of the organizing committee.
He said with just over 80 days to go, BOCOG has fulfilled most of the 23 responsibilities and almost 5,000 tasks it set itself.
The torch relay and preparations for the opening and closing ceremonies are the priority at the moment, he said.
The torch relay is still on the road in southeast China, although it has been downscaled in the wake of the quake. A mourning ritual has been added to each of the remaining stops at 96 Chinese cities in honor of those who died.
Performers of the opening ceremony are training in secure boot camps in suburban Beijing. Rehearsals will begin in June at the Bird's Nest, or National Stadium, where the ceremony will be held.
Officials have now decided the manner in which the cauldron will be lit during the curtain raiser, said BOCOG Executive Vice-President Liu Jingmin on Tuesday.
"I am confident that the Games this summer will be he same as the Games we promised in the bidding," said Zhang, who overseas 26 departments working on the preparatory operations.
Zhang, who helped draft the Candidature File while working for the Beijing Olympics bid committee in 2001, said he is also working on BOCOG President Liu Qi's 5-minute speech for the opening ceremony on August 8.
Zhang said that visits and exchanges with previous Olympic host cities had been invaluable.
