Majority of Olympic competition venues complete

(BEIJING, October 19) -- Twenty-seven of the 37 Olympic competition venues are complete, according to Liu Jingmin, Beijing vice mayor and BOCOG executive vice-president.

Liu made the remarks at a press conference for the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

Aside from the National Stadium, whose completion is scheduled for next March to accommodate modifications for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies that will be held there, the remaining venues that are still under construction will be complete by the end of the year.

Liu explained that the creative program of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies has been confirmed, and the production work and rehearsals are under way.

At the press conference, Liu also gave an update on other preparation areas:

Ticketing: The ticket reservation and sales process is progressing smoothly. The first phase of domestic ticket sales for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games has concluded and the second phase is to begin shortly in late October. Also, overseas Olympic ticket orders are in the process of being verified.

Olympic Volunteers: The number of applicants for the volunteer programs of the Beijing Olympic Games has exceeded 670,000. In order to ensure the quality of the voluntary volunteer services, BOCOG has recruited professional volunteers in ten areas, including linguistic services, media operations and competition organization.

Paralympic Games: BOCOG has been preparing for the 2008 Paralympic Games in parallel with the other preparations. Barrier-free facilities have been set up in the various venues. The Good Luck Beijing 2007 International Goalball Tournament from September 13-16 demonstrated that the venues and services meet the standards required of the Paralympic Games.

Eco-environment: Beijing achieved "blue sky days" 66 percent of the year in 2006 - a 17.6 percent improvement over 2000. Also Beijing's public transport system continues to offer residents alternatives to driving, with the recent addition of subway Line 5. More options will come next year with the future Lines 10, the Olympic lateral line, and the airport extension.

Liu emphasized Beijing's commitment to holding a "high level Olympics with distinctive features."