Gardaí to attend Olympics security conference in Athens

MEMBERS of the Garda Síochána will attend an international conference later this month to discuss security at the Olympic Games.

The International Olympic Council (IOC) are to meet with European delegations in Athens on May 24 to outline the safety plans for the August event, and consider any concerns which competing country's may have.

Fresh concerns over Olympic security were raised last Wednesday morning following three bomb blasts outside an Athens police station.

However the Olympic Council of Ireland, (OCI) are satisfied that Irish athletes will not be placed in any danger during the two-week event.

"I was satisfied with the security in place last week," Irish chef de mission Willie O'Brien said yesterday. "And now it is an additional boost to have this garda assistance and expertise available to us over the next few months."

Gardaí have appointed a chief superintendent to assist the OCI in their planning for the event. Their expertise garnered during Ireland's EU presidency over the six months is expected to prove invaluable in the final planning at international level.

Members of the force will also attend all Irish team management meetings between now and the games which open on Friday, August 13.

Gardaí are also in continual contact with their Greek counterparts.

More than 50,000 members of the Greek security forces and emergency services will be directly involved in protecting the athletes, officials and visitors during the two weeks.

Greece has officially asked for NATO help to boost security for the Games in the wake of the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 and injured 1,500 in March.

Reports from the southern hemisphere suggest that Athens security officials will provide Australian athletes with 24-hour armed protection at the Games. Greek police will provide armed escorts to shadow athletes when they leave the fortified Olympic village to go shopping, sightseeing or visiting local cafes.

British and American athletes will also receive 24-hour, off-site protection, the reports claimed.

Teams from members of the Iraq coalition and from countries named in al-Qaida threats are regarded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as potential terrorist targets.

A senior IOC security source said: "Teams which are more vulnerable ones from the coalition alliance and which have been named as being under threat from people like al-Qaida will get additional security."

Meanwhile workmen began joining the first of two giant arches which will support the controversial roof of the Olympics stadium. Whether or not the glass-metal roof would be installed in time has been in doubt for the last few months as Greece has struggled to complete its projects for the games.

The western arch, designed to carry the metal structure supporting the polycarbon roof plates overlooking the stadium, weighs around 9,000 tons and was to slide at a snail's pace across a distance of 60 metres (200 feet).

According to an engineer at the work site, the manoeuvre was scheduled to take around four days.

The installation of the eastern arch, which was still under construction, was expected to start around 10 days after the first arch has been moved into place.