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country, we are developing a touristic programme, so as to give the opportunity
to visitors to visit for instance Epidaurus, Delphi, Olympia, Thessaloniki and other
places of Greece, we have a major programme with respect to the Cultural
Olympiad, which has already started and has major cultural events in different
parts of the country, we are upgrading the entry points of the country, because we
are awaiting for a lot of visitors coming from the north, and we are having a Torch
Relay programme, which we planned to be very successful — again the lesson from
Sydney was very good.
So, the Torch Relay Programme: They managed to develop an enthusiasm
into the citizens, they managed even to develop an enthusiasm in the journalists,
who usually write negative things about everything that is being prepared about
the Games, and this is very important. So, we tried through the Torch Relay
Programme to take the Flame in every single part of the country and link that with
cultural events of quality, so as to develop a national, let's say, celebration about
the Olympic Games in Greece in the year 2004.
This practically concludes this presentation. I am sorry if it took more time than
it should. I think that the Olympic Games is an excellent opportunity to promote
a country, to develop a number of projects and interventions which will last
after the Games, to gather in your country 200 countries from all over the world,
to develop an athletic celebration of great importance and great momentum, to do
a lot of things. At the same time, the Olympic Games are a very demanding
issue. An extremely demanding issue. Sandy said that he had to think about one
million things every time. Every day, what is going to go wrong? The minor
one the major one? Believe me, I am waking up every day at five o'clock in
the morning, I have not done that since the time I was doing my duty in the
airforce - every single Greek has to go to the airforce or the army. At that time,
I was waking up at five o'clock in the morning. I had to go to do my duty.
Now, I am waking up at five o'clock in the morning every day because of the
anxiety, because, while you sleep, you think about different things - I do
not know how it happens - but you think about different things, well, this ... will
collapse, this project is going to be retarded, what is going to be the outcome
of the IOC, what Jacques Rogge is going to say about Athens. To be honest with
you, it only takes ten minutes and then, I sleep again. And I wake up again at
seven o'clock for good. But the event is so big. It needs every single dimension
to be dealt with in a very delicate manner, it needs productive strategies, it needs
a very close collaboration between the Organising Committee and the government,
and it needs a very close collaboration between everybody and the IOC.
It is great, it is very important. I am sure we are going to be successful. I am sure
that some of us will be very tired in the year 2004, but, as Sandy looks younger
and younger every time I see him after the Games of Sydney, I hope that all of us
will also be looking younger after the Games of Athens.
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