KEY POINTS:
The signs are encouraging that Beijing is well on its way to hosting a memorable Olympics next year, says New Zealand's chef de mission Dave Currie.
He is back after a two-week reconnaissance trip to the Chinese capital with several sports managers and administrative staff to check progress 15 months out from the Games.
There are areas requiring more clarification, but in general Currie was impressed. Compared with Athens in 2004, he believes Beijing is streets ahead in terms of readiness for August next year.
"In August this year, they are having test events in all the major events, apart from the main stadium, which won't be finished until December," Currie said. "All the others are completed a year out, the whole nine yards, so they're well ahead venue-wise."
The roading system, including six-lane highways, caught his eye and the layout of the key Olympic sites appeared well designed with no obvious wrinkles.
Apart from the equestrian, which is being staged in Hong Kong, and the sailing at Qingdao, an hour's flight away, every other sport is within half an hour of the Olympic village. The centrepiece is an 1100ha block of gardens and parkland, which contains the main stadium and half a dozen venues.
"Everything is compact and you get a real confidence that if they say 'it'll take half an hour', it will take half an hour. In Athens, you were worried that some roads didn't appear to be going anywhere."
Currie said the language posed some difficulties, not through a lack of desire to be understood but simply ensuring the message gets through accurately. "There are challenges, but the general sense is they are going to do whatever they need to get it right."
He liked the fact that it is beginning to get the feel of an Olympic city. "The banners and signage are out. There's no doubt the Olympics are coming to town."
The athletes' village, blocks of six and nine-storey buildings for 10,000 athletes and 6000 support staff in an 800m by 1 km space, is a far cry from the spacious, Mediterranean-style accommodation in Athens. "It's pretty intensive living compared to what we are normally used to, but we have to make the most of it."
Pollution is top priority and a New Zealand medical environmental team will be in Beijing in August to plan strategies to cope. Heat and humidity - perhaps up to 38C and oppressive - can be countered; the pollution is a health issue. "You can't acclimatise for that. From the athlete's point of view, that's No 1. We're certainly planning for the worst, and hoping for the best."
On security, Currie believes the Chinese are "conscious of having a softer face around the Olympic environment. They want China to be seen as a progressive, moving forward country. My sense is that's what they want people to remember."
