Beijing Olympic officials are learning from the Athens Olympic organizing committee as the Athens Olympic Games debriefing in Beijing entered its third day. 
 
The experience of the Athens Games is summarized in terms of marketing, organizing, human resources, services and city image building.

Athens Olympic organizing committee Chief Executive Officer Marton Simitsek says they have come to help Beijing avoid mistakes.

"We have gone through the process of organizing the Olympic games and we have gained a lot of experiences. We are friends and we come openly to give these experiences to you, so you will not make mistakes and you are not going to lose money."

Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee Yang Minghui says Beijing should learn from the successful experience of Athens and explore how to stage an even better Olympic Games.

A Greek official of the Athens Olympic organizing committee warns Beijing against not having Olympic venues completed on time. He says having the venues ready late is a painful experience.

"The risk is increasing as the venues are being delivered later and later, because having the venues delivered earlier means you have a lot of time to test."

(CRI November 3, 2004)