Beijing To Make A Profit

It seems that Beijing may host the most profitable Olympics ever, by exceeding the $224M profit by Los Angeles in 1984.

That at least is the view of Hein Verbruggen, the International Olympic Committee official overseeing preparations for the 2008 games.

Quote:

"I would not be surprised if Beijing makes more money than any Olympics".

Eight sponsors are on board so far. The IOC also has 11 international sponsors paying $866M in total for the four years to 2008.

The IOC claim that every Olympic Games since 1976 has made a profit, with Athens having a surplus of 7 million euros.

However, what these guys don't tell is that the numbers exclude the costs of the worthless infrastructure that is left behind.

To claim that Greece made a profit, after squandering $13BN, is an insult to people's intelligence.

Verbruggen is quoted a saying:

"It's perhaps hard to believe but there's nothing negative to say."

LOL!

Beijing Will Be Ready

The IOC say that the facilities for the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be ready on time, thereby avoiding the delays that befouled the preparations for the Athens Games last year.

Kevan Gosper, part of the International Olympic Committee's team tracking Beijing's progress, said that the IOC had Beijing to slow preparations.

Quote:

"We are completely confident that the venues will be completed on time..I have no doubt."

Beijing will spend $30BN to stage the games.

Beijing's National Olympic Stadium, which is shaped like a bird's nest, will be completed before the end of 2007. It will be able to stage test events a year before the games open.

The Aquatic Center, known as the "Water Cube", will be ready in October 2007. It will be the world's largest swimming centre.

Japan Not To Boycott The Olympics

There have been concerns about whether Japan would boycott the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

The IOC have confirmed that Japan will not boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympics, despite security concerns following massive anti-Japan demonstrations in China last month.

Boycotts are now a thing of the past, according to IOC Coordination Commission Vice President Kevan Gosper.

Gosper said that the two countries can settle their differences through political channels.

On April 18, after a string of anti-Japan demonstrations in Beijing and other Chinese cities, Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan asked Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura about rumors that Japanese athletes would shun the Games.

Machimura told Tang there was no boycott plan, but that vandalism during the April demonstrations "prompts worries" about whether the Olympics can be held in an orderly manner.

Concerns also surfaced after Chinese people broke a Japanese diplomat's car window and struck journalists, after China lost to Japan last August in the Asian Football Confederation final in Beijing.