Weather, budget won't spoil Vancouver Games, says Rogge

Published>Thu, Jan 28 10 11:49 PM

Weather and budget concerns will not spoil next month's Winter Olympics in Vancouver, which is ready for "great sport, great action," IOC President Jacques Rogge said on Thursday.

Unusually warm weather in western Canada has raised some concerns just two weeks before the start of the Games but Rogge said the latest data showed the mountains around Vancouver, where the skiing events will be staged, had sufficient snow for the Feb. 12-28 Games.

"Vancouver can say that everything is ready now," Rogge told reporters in a conference call.

"Seven good years of preparation and I am very optimistic for the staging of these Games. I look forward to very good games."

Rogge said Games organisers (VANOC) were on top of the weather issue, with a contingency plan in place in case of insufficient snow fall.

"There is a permanent contingency planning for the entire duration of the Games. The latest (report) I got 30 minutes ago ago is that Whistler mountain is absolutely fine and Cypress mountains is absolutely fine on the track."

Rogge said the credit crisis, which had forced organisers to save money, would also not affect the Olympics.

"We do not expect to see changes on the level of athletes or national Olympic committees."

"We had some savings to do in the budget of VANOC but chosen very carefully as not to impact the Games and experience for the athletes. The athletes won't feel anything of the financial crisis."

Vancouver had encountered problems with the financing of the athletes' village with taxpayers forced to bail out the $1 billion project last year.

The IOC had also assured organisers it would help out with a potential budget gap caused by the global recession.

Rogge said he was confident VANOC, the last winter Games under his presidency as his term ends in 2013, would break even.

"The budget result will be known six weeks after the Games. The prediction is to have a break even. It is the latest position of VANOC and this is our position," Rogge said.

Source: Web Search