IOC “Satisfied” by Assurances from Beijing Organizers

ATHENS/BEIJING, April 3:
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) says it has concluded its tenth and
final meeting with the Beijing Organizing Committee (BOCOG) and is “satisfied
with renewed assurances” over a number of concerns, including the integrity of
the live broadcast feed.

At the lighting of the
Olympic torch in Greece last month, the broadcast of the ceremony was disrupted
after members of the Reporters Without Borders group threw a protest banner at
Liu Qi, the president of BOCOG. According to published reports, executives at
France Télévisions approached the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) with their
concerns over the incident, seeking a guarantee from China that there will be
no interruptions in live Olympics coverage.

In a statement, the IOC’s
Coordination Commission Chairman Hein Verbruggen said: “We were satisfied by
the assurances we received across a number of areas—media service levels,
including internet access, brand protection, environmental contingency plans for
improved air quality, and the live broadcast feed. BOCOG must now fine-tune its
operations over the final four months.”

—By Mansha Daswani