Liu Yunyun sat down with Hein Verbruggen, Chairman of the Coordination Commission of the International Olympic Committee, to get his views on Beijing's Olympic preparation work.

Beijing Review:Are you satisfied with Beijing's preparation work?

Hein Verbruggen: The work is close to perfect. To hold the Olympic Games is incredibly complex. I have to admit that BOCOG has obviously gained full support from the authorities, the Beijing Government and the country's authorities. That allows BOCOG to be very perfect in government relations.

The only thing we are struggling with from time to time-and it's not a problem of BOCOG, it is more the system of the country-is that coming to decision is a little bit complicated. It might take a little bit long before decisions are taken. But time and time again, when this occurs, it is easy to solve the problem once decisions are made. So it is more of a problem for us than it is a problem for BOCOG. Even if the decisions come a little bit late from time to time, it has not caused any major delays.

The Coordination Commission and the experts for venue construction in previous Games have contributed valuable suggestions for Beijing's venue designs. What are the main suggestions and what are their positive effects?

The most important thing is that the venues are able to perform. That is a number one. In addition to this, these venues are kind of a legacy, after the games nobody will play in them anymore, so the important thing is that they can still be used and they are functional and should not be a financial burden. For instance, the Bird's Nest can be like the opera house in Sydney to hold big concerts. But we know Chinese men, they are very good businessmen. So, we don't worry that much.

During the Olympic Games, a large number of skilled people are required to serve the flood of international visitors coming to Beijing and many are engaged in organizing work. What do you suggest for the training of these people?

Our commission has a lot of experienced people. BOCOG has continuously listened to us and accepted the advice we have given. The BOCOG staff will be a good legacy, because they have gone through such a wonderful experience as organizing the Olympic Games. Their skills cannot only be used in their present jobs, they can be used in the future. When China or Beijing is going to organize other events in the future, those people will be able to contribute a lot.

The volunteers for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are also doing a great job. I have seen them in Qingdao, Hong Kong and Beijing. They know foreign languages and organizational skill and are very capable.

What kind of external help do you think BOCOG needs?

This is very important. The problem with organizing the Olympic Games is that it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. So you do not have what we call "game experience" available in the city that organizes the games. An organizing committee, whether it is BOCOG or any other committee, is a contradiction. It does not exist seven years before the games. But it grows very quickly in the run-up to the games, with 4,000-5,000 full time people and with 20,000 to 40,000 volunteers. Yet six months after the games, nothing exists anymore. So under those circumstances, you need game experience. The problem that I see in China is that they'd rather see the fact that foreigners are working here instead of seeing the necessity for them to be here. I have the feeling that there could be more foreigners here, not because the foreigners know better, but you need the experience since you only organize once.

From time to time, we have the feeling that more game experience has to come from foreigners. Athens hired a lot of people from Sydney, and Sydney hired a large number of people from Atlanta. This is probably the only thing China has been a little bit reluctant about.

Our suggestions have always been: do not hesitate, hire people with good experience.

In the process of choosing Hong Kong as the co-host city of the 2008 Equestrian events, China had been confronted with lots of difficulties. What are the main issues with this?

First of all, it is a problem for the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI). They wanted the games to be held in one place. When you go too far away from the host city, it might give people the feeling that it is isolated. For instance, there is Qingdao. We were in Qingdao. They have fabulous marina and it is a great city, but it is a little bit isolated. They are not the core of the games. As for Hong Kong, considering it has a long history for equestrian activities, the FEI and IOC have been very generous and we have finally solved the disputes.