The UK has a total Olympic team of 313, two thirds of which came to Macao starting from the end of last month. They chose this island city, in the southern coast of China, as the location for their preparation camp. The UK swimmers went to Japanese city Osaka for pre-Games training, while the rest flew directly to Beijing.

Asked if he agreed to equipping athletes with respiratory masks as some countries did, Moynihan said, "If the air quality deteriorates very significantly then we will need to talk to the IOC about what would be appropriate and suitable, but it is not my view that the use of masks is necessary at the moment."

Moynihan also spoke very highly of Beijing's venues for the Olympic Games, "Look at the 'bird's nest', it is an amazing building; Look at the village, it is probably the best Olympic village in the history of the Olympic Games."

Since the Olympiad will be held in London four years after the Beijing Games, London is also determined to run a successful event, but with less expenditure than Beijing.

According to the BOA chief, an estimate of 9.3 billion pounds will be invested on infrastructure and venues, while another 2 billion pounds will be needed to actually put on the Games. The Team GB (the British Olympic team) will have a budget of 600 million pounds. The total is about 12 billion pounds.

"Beijing's budget is significantly bigger than that. I would be completely honest that we don't have the money to match the quality of many of the facilities in Beijing," Moynihan said.

However, he said he still expects the Beijing Games to earn money from tourism and merchandizing, as the sponsorship side has been very strong. "I think there will be a significant generation of income from the Games," he said.

Given that the cost of holding a modern Olympic Games keeps rising, only a few cities around the world can afford the hosting of such event. The BOA chief said he also believed the issue of cost reduction should be seriously considered in the future Games.

"It will certainly be less spent in London...but seeking to reduce the expenditure while still keeping the glory of the Olympic Games and the spotlight of the Games so strong every four years is a big challenge, and it is a challenge for the next generation of the IOC," he pointed out.

"I think the IOC need to think carefully about how they can widen the appeal (of the Games) to more cities. Somehow seek to reduce the cost that is so heavy, which can only be borne by really a very few cities in the world. These are the challenges that need to be faced -- How you internationalize it; how you encourage more cities to be involved," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2008)