PyeongChang has "no time to lose" and still has a lot of work to do but the IOC "is satisfied that the venues for the 2018 Winter Games will be ready on time." IOC Coordination Committee Chair Gunilla Lindberg said at a news conference in Gangneung on Thursday that there had been "big progress" since January when the IOC last visited to gauge progress (REUTERS, 3/19). ... A coalition of Free Tibet groups urged the IOC on Thursday "to drop a bid from Beijing for the 2022 winter Games over its human rights record in the region." A group of 175 organizations "will be handing in a report to the IOC" on what it claims is a deterioration of the human rights situation after the Chinese capital hosted the 2008 Olympics. Free Tibet organization's Alistair Currie said, "The old saying goes, 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me'" (REUTERS, 3/19). ... Rio de Janeiro "will stage 44 test events over the next 14 months as the country moves up a gear in its preparations to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games." The schedule "includes 34 Olympic test events, six Paralympic events, and four events which will include both Olympic and Paralympic tests" (REUTERS, 3/18).
