Fresh air missing factor in Beijing

Pollution is the only box not ticked by a visiting New Zealand Olympic Committee group after two weeks' assessing Beijing's readiness to host the 2008 Games.

New Zealand team chef de mission Dave Currie said progress and the attitude of the Chinese people suggested the Games would be a success. His only concern was the level of air pollution.

"It clearly is an issue at the moment, you can't get away from that and they can't either," Currie said. "For the seven days we were in Beijing, there were three days that we actually saw the sky and the sun.

"The greening of Beijing is overwhelming. Every space in the city and around the outside area is now planted with trees."

Currie said other measures were likely to be taken to improve pollution such as reducing car use and industrial output. "You got some comfort that by Games time they will have sorted it out because the eyes of the world will be there."

NZOC officials Currie, Richard de Groen and Tony Popplewell, and representatives from Sparc, were impressed by the quality and accessibility of every venue.

Various New Zealand high-performance sports representatives, including Blyth Tait (equestrian), Andrew Matheson (rowing), Stephen Farrell (triathlon) and Michael Flynn (cycling), all gave the thumbs-up to their respective venues.

The purpose-built athletes' village, about 20 minutes north of central Beijing, comprised six and nine-storey blocks, with more space than at Athens and a better ratio of rooms and facilities per athlete.

Currie noted there were 23 cranes on the site and thousands of workers there and at other venues, seemingly working through the night in readiness for the Games in 23 months.

"The rate of building is amazing," he said. "The overriding impression is they're going to do whatever they can to make it work."

The New Zealand contingent visited the equestrian venue in Hong Kong, where the cross-country is to be held over two of the city's three golf courses, and the sailing venue in Qingdao, south of Beijing.

- NZPA