BEIJING -- The organizers should strike a nice balance in the final days preparing for the Beijing Olympic Games, said Kevan Gosper, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, here on Thursday.
As there are only 78 days to the opening of the sport gala in the Chinese capital, Gosper warned the Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games (BOCOG) against possible mistakes.
"My view in the final months is not to make a mistake," said Gosper, chairman of the IOC Press Commission who is in Beijing for the 71st AIPS Congress.
Mistakes include inbalance in preparation, said the Australian whose country held the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
"You can give too much attention to certain areas of the activity. There are like 43 functions which related to staging a successful Games from in-venue competitions to the protocol of events to the technology to the media to the transportation and so on," said Gosper. "With 78 days to go, you should have it on a nice balance. You have to be careful to maintain that balance right through the Games."
However well planned before the Games, schedule will still be subject to changes and the changes have to be made quickly, said Gosper.
"At the Games time there will be need for some adjustments. The big issue is the speed of the start of the Games," he said.
"Test events is one thing but the startup is so dramatic where everybody has to keep a sturdy nerve, prepared to make some adjustments," he said. "That's when you have to make adjustments very quickly. The important thing is the ability to respond very quickly."
The International Sports Press Association is holding a four-day meeting in Beijing ahead of the August 8-24 Games.
