Bangkok is ready to welcome the Beijing Olympic flame and to make the Olympic torch relay on the Thai soil for the first time a success, the National Olympic Committee of Thailand (NOCT) said Thursday.

General Yuthasak Sasiprapha, President of National Olympic Committee of Thailand (NOCT) made the remarks at a press conference to introduce progress of its organization of the Olympic torch relay.

Yuthasak said the arrival of the Olympic flame, scheduled on early Friday, should be celebrated by Bangkok and the whole country.

It is a milestone in Thailand's sports history when Thailand was listed 25th on the medal winning list of last Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, and welcoming the Olympic torch , as the symbol of Olympic spirit, is another remarkable event for the country, said the Thai Olympic chief.

It is a consensus among Thai Royal Family, Thai government and Thai people that Thailand should be a good host of the Olympic torch relay.

Yuthasak reaffirmed that Thailand's crown princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the second daughter of King Bhumibol Adulyadej known for her keen interest in Chinese culture and extended trips around China, will attend the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games on August 8 on behalf of the King to express the Thai Royal Family's good wishes and the country's support for the Beijing Games.

He said various departments and agencies of the Thai government have joined efforts, with close cooperation of Thai-Chinese communities, in the preparation work, which has been all completed by now.

He also thanked the Beijing Organizing Committee of Olympic Games (BOCOG) for giving the opportunity to Bangkok as one of the 21 cities to take part in the global tour of the Olympic Flame.

Most of the 80 torch bearers, selected from all walks of life in Thai society, attended the press conference.

The Bangkok relay's first torch bearer Anant Siripasraporn, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the last one Pawina Thongsuk, the legendary gold medalist for women's weightlifting 75kg at the 28th Olympic 2004, Athens, practised holding the "Lucky Clouds" Olympic torch .

Pawina, who announced retirement as an national team athlete because of injuries, told Xinhua it was a regret for her not to be able to attend the Beijing Olympics, but she considered her being selected as the last torch bearer in the Bangkok relay a great compensation for the retirement and another zenith in her sports career.

Also on Thursday, Thai police issued an announcement to call on all Thais to help ensure a smooth and safe Olympic torch relay in Bangkok, which is to take place on Saturday, and threaten to expulse any foreign groups or citizens attempting to sabotage the torch relay.

This is the first time for the Olympic flame to tour Thailand.

Starting on Saturday afternoon, 80 torch bearers, including government officials, athletes, company executives, artists, students, educators, social workers and Thai-Chinese community leaders, will run through a 10.4-km-long route in Bangkok that covers the city's most renown landmarks and historical sites.

Thousands of spectators are expected to swarm into Bangkok's China Town, the starting point of the torch relay on Saturday, while helicopters and more than 1,000 police will be deployed to keep the order along the route, authorities said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2008)