Security has been a key concern of organisers given the threat from terrorism and Athens chiefs have already committed to a massive operation to ensure the event passes off without incident running into hundreds of millions of dollars.
Now the prime minister has publicly insisted the Games will be safe – and underlined the pressure the hosts are under.
Said Kostas Karamanlis, who swept to power last month: "Our main concern - our foremost priority - is unconditionally the safety, at Games-time, of the country, the athletes, and the visitors. Our preparations are not hit-and-miss; we are building on the work of our predecessors.
“We are working closely with other countries that have great experience in counter-terrorism and the necessary technical know-how. It need hardly be said that as things stand it is absolutely essential to keep up our consultation and coordinated action on an international level. This will send the message that Greece is fully able to guarantee the safety of the Games.
“We cannot ignore that the deadlines are extremely tight, just four months away from the Games. Our immediate priority is to have everyone working effectively, so that we lose not a day - not an hour - of our preparations. We must honour the commitments we have undertaken to the Olympic Family.”
Meanwhile, Eutelsat and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), have signed a deal for four wideband transponders that will be used by the EBU for television coverage of the Athens Games.
The additional satellite capacity will allow the EBU to provide private direct point-to-point circuits between Athens and the headquarters of television channels that will have their own TV crews and content aggregation facilities in Athens.
In addition to these private circuits, the EBU will simultaneously deliver 800 hours of live coverage of the sports events with ambient sound to its 71 members.
The prime minister of Greece has ‘guaranteed’ a safe Olympic Games in Athens – and admitted the city cannot lose ‘an hour’ in its race to complete work in time for the opening ceremony.
