The International Olympic Committee (IOC) spoke highly of a recent BOCOG report on Beijing's Olympic preparations, according to an official statement released on April 19.

The report was presented by Wang Wei, BOCOG Executive Vice-President and Secretary-General, at a recent IOC Executive Board Session.

The IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davis said Wang's report was inspiring, and gave a positive comment on BOCOG's ability to attract a wide variety of specialists and experts to support the Olympic movement.

Addressing attendees at the Session, Wang said that the Chinese government was placing great importance on preparing Beijing for the Olympics. He commented that 2005 was a "crucial year" in terms of planning for the Games, stressing that over the course of the year, strategic plans would gradually be translated into practical operations.

Wang said that Olympic preparations in the capital had been progressing smoothly, thanks to ongoing support from the general public, local authorities, the IOC and the IOC Coordination Commission.

With respect to construction and development, Wang noted that BOCOG had recently submitted an updated plan for venue construction to the IOC, and had also supplied the design guidelines for 26 venues to relevant International Federations (IFs). He remarked that this was the first time in the Olympic history that an Olympic organizing committee had proposed guidelines relating to the design of all planned venues.

At the Session, Wang also discussed recent developments in the BOCOG marketing strategy. He commented that to date, BOCOG had already signed contracts with seven enterprises associated with the "partnership program," and noted that a "licensing program" was also under way. Other developments mentioned were the "sponsorship program” (introduced in March, 2005) and the ticketing program, which saw a ticketing office established in January, 2005.

Wang also took the opportunity to explain BOCOG's efforts across a number of other areas, including organizing competitions, technical systems, media operations and security systems.

(BOCOG April 20, 2005)