Olympic chiefs confident Athens games will start on time

IRISH OLYMPIC chiefs remain confident that the Athens games will start on schedule 100 days from today, despite growing concern over construction delays in the Greek capital.

Yesterday heavy equipment and swarms of construction workers dotted the Olympic stadium which is due to host the opening ceremony on Friday August 13.

Welders and electricians were also visible on the stadium's showpiece roof which is supported on tracks alongside the ground.

The difficult task at this site and many others is compounded by the onset of a security shut down at the end of June, which will prevent any further works from being undertaken.

Despite such scenes, the Olympic Council of Ireland, chef de mission, William O'Brien, is optimistic that the games will be a success.

"We are happy that things are on schedule, obviously there are concerns about one or two sites including the Olympic stadium but we are confident that things will be ready by the middle of August.

"The Olympic village and equestrian centre to name just two are ready for competition now."

He said he was unconcerned by the sites witnessed at the Olympic stadium yesterday. "I spoke to the site manager about the position of the roof," Mr O'Brien said.

"At the moment it is external to the stadium but it is on a track which is moving at three metres closer each hour and will be in place by May 20. After that all that remains is landscaping work as the stadium itself is ready to host the games.

"From a team viewpoint, once we have a decent bus park, a decent walkway into the stadium, a decent changing room and a decent track, our athletes are on a level playing field with those throughout the world".

Some 10,500 athletes from 202 national Olympic committees will compete in 28 sports during the two week event which will be watched by four billion people worldwide.