Shanghai impresses the world with its greatness and magnitude,
and it gives a lot of pressure to Greece, the host country of 2011
Special Olympic World Summer Games, says Joanna Despotopoulou,
president of Special Olympics Greece.
Joanna praised Shanghai's organization of Special Olympics in an
exclusive interview with Xinhua, "Shanghai has done a good job and
the Chinese people are very hospitable. We are deeply impressed by
the opening ceremony, and all the sport venues are beautiful and
very well maintained."
The on-going event has drawn more than 10,000 athletes and
coaches, which makes it the biggest edition in the Games' history.
Shanghai has 40,000 volunteers from all walks of life serving the
Special Olympics.
"We are amazed by the amount of volunteers. They are dedicated
and efficient. Whenever we want them to find a solution for us,
they can do it. Moreover, they can speak all languages including
Greek, which makes our life here much easier," she said.
Greece has sent a 145-member delegation including 15 observers
to Shanghai, making it one of the biggest delegations to the event.
However, Joanna noticed Shanghai's traffic flow was hassled by the
approaching typhoon Krosa and the ending of long holidays.
"Last week the traffic was smooth because it was holiday, but
today we have some problems with the transportation. But we
understand that every host country have slight problems, and with
good will we'll solve every problem, because our main purpose is to
make athletes happy," Joanna said.
The 10-day sport gala for people with intellectual disabilities
will end on October 11, when the Special Olympic flag is expected
to be handed over to Athens.
(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2007)