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Seven members of an Olympic inspection team to look at Beijing's
bid to host the 2008 Olympics arrived in China's capital city Tuesday
morning, joining the 10 who landed on Monday for a four-day tour
in the city Wednesday.
The seven from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Evaluation
Commission include Chairman Hein Verbruggen from the Netherlands,
Vice-Chairman Gilbert Felli from Switzerland and Ukraine's track
legend Sergei Bubka, the athlete representative of the 17-member
group.
Beijing 2008 Bidding Committee President and Mayor Liu Qi and IOC
executive board member He Zhenliang headed a welcome group at the
airport.
Despite jetlag from a long flight, Verbruggen and the other members
looked pleased by the welcome they received.
"I am absolutely overwhelmed by the warm reception, but next
time I will make sure we don't come at six o'clock in the morning,"
he joked.
Referring to Beijing's coldest winter in the past few years, which
is now coming to an end,, he joked: "I hope to bring some warmth."
Verbruggen, who is a frequent visitor to Beijing, said he was amazed
by the ancient city which has been "very very rapidly developed."
"For those who haven't been here before, they cannot see the
difference. But I was here in October and I was absolutely flabbergasted
by the enormous amount of construction that has been taking place
over the last few years," the chairman said.
The commission will listen to presentations from the Beijing bid
committee every morning from Wednesday until Saturday and then make
inspection visits.
"Through this inspection we hope to convey the real conditions
and capabilities of Beijing and the enthusiasm and confidence of
Beijing people to the International Olympic Committee and all its
members," said Liu Jingmin, vice-president of the bidding committee.
Liu listed five points on which Beijingers hope the IOC will discover
the credentials of the city in terms of its ability to host the
Games.
Dynamic economic growth, extensive public support for the bid, sufficient
accommodation, communications and transport capacity and the meticulously-planned
Olympic venues will all combine to make Beijing a strong candidate,
Liu said.
Representatives from around 1, 100 non-governmental groups in Beijing
Tuesday signed in a letter which expressed their support for Beijing's
bid for the 2008 Olympic Games and is to be dedicated to the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) President Juan Samaranch.
Beijing is competing with Paris, Toronto, Osaka and Istanbul for
the Games. It lost its last bid, to Sydney, in 1993.
(China Daily 02/20/01)
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