Athens 2004 Committee Dir Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki
"promised" that construction deadlines for the 2004 Summer
Games "have been moved up and security forces will be
strengthened in time for the Games," according to AFP.
These issues "will take centre stage later this week during
a visit" by the IOC, while organizers are "hoping to project
unity and a sense of progress after repeatedly facing
criticism for allowing delays in the 2004 effort" (AFP,
11/21). USA TODAY's Vicki Michaelis reports that despite
speculation over whether the Games will ultimately "be moved
to a different city," IOC execs "are downplaying the
significance of their visit this week" to monitor the city's
preparations (USA TODAY, 11/21). In Melbourne, Duncan
Mackay reports that by the time the IOC leaves Friday,
Angelopoulos-Daskalaki "hopes to have removed any
suggestions that the Games might be taken away." Mackay
notes that while Athens is "behind schedule ... all sides
agree significant progress has been made since the return of
Angelopoulos-Daskalaki" to lead the committee (AGE, 11/21).
SPONSOR SURVEY: In London, Chris Ayres reported that a
recent survey conducted by CIA Medialab showed that out of
500 British adults questioned, 240 could not name a single
official sponsor of the Sydney Games, even though 80% of
those interviewed "said they had watched at least some of
the Olympics" on TV. Also, "many consumers were wrongly
convinced that the sponsors' closest rivals had spent an
equal amount of money backing" the Games. The survey showed
that 22% of Britons were "convinced that both" adidas and
Nike were official sponsors. But Nike paid US$17M to become
an Olympic sponsor, while adidas "paid a fraction of that"
to sponsor British rower Steven Redgrave (TIMES, 11/20).
