BEHIND THE SCENES: A fork-lift truck driver at Beijing's Olympic Logistics Center loads equipment for a Good Luck Beijing test event in 2007

Li Yanling, Vice Director of Logistics Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), is feeling relaxed, even though the Olympics are approaching fast.

Li has been working on the Olympics since December 2003. In 2004, she went to Athens to learn from experiences there. "At that time, I thought the logistics work was very cumbersome, trivial and hard to organize," said Li.

The Olympic Games last for less than one month, but involve an incredible level of logistics work. When Beijing successfully bid for the Olympics in 2001, the Ministry of Science and Technology organized a number of enterprises to research the Olympic logistics system.

The result of that research concluded that the whole logistics project for the Beijing Olympics would cost 43.29 billion yuan ($6.18 billion), occupying about 15.5 percent of the total budget.

According to the BOCOG, the logistical demands of the Beijing Olympics have risen to a high level because the number of participants will be the largest in history. Within the 17 days of the Games, the Logistics Department will deal with tens of thousands of participants from over 200 countries, as well as delegates, service people, journalists and spectators. Logistics are of crucial importance and will decide whether the event is successful or not.

Unlike other BOCOG sections the work of the Logistics Department will be mostly complete before the Games. Li is confident that all the preparations have gone well and that the event will pass smoothly. Part of her confidence is based on the Olympic Logistics Center (OLC).

Located at Beijing Airport Logistics Park in Shunyi District, the OLC is an important unit in coordinating and protecting the security of Olympic materials. Referring to the experience of Sydney and Athens, the OLC has easy access to Olympic venues to make the delivery of materials convenient.