Hong Kong ready for Olympic equestrian events -- china.org.cn

Timothy Fok, President of Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, said in an interview with Xinhua that the preparation for the Olympic equestrian competitions has been completed and Hong Kong is all ready for the event.

Fok arrived in Beijing on Sunday afternoon to attend the 120th session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He said the Beijing Olympics is a very special event since the Games are first held in his home country and Hong Kong will host the equestrian events.

The Olympic and Paralympic equestrian events are scheduled to kick off from August 9, and are expected to bring together athletes and horses from 42 teams.

To ensure the success of the equestrian events, the HKSAR government had established the Equestrian Committee to coordinate intergovernmental work in such areas as security, transport, medical and quarantine services.

The committee set up its executive arm in the form of a company, the Equestrian Company, to organize the equestrian events.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club has spent more than 1.2 billion HK dollars (154 million US dollars) on the design, construction and maintenance of two competition venues located in the New Territories.

Fok said he was expecting to see the Games in Beijing and the Equestrian events in Hong Kong become the most successful throughout the Olympic history.

"(Jacques) Rogge (IOC president) once joked with me that there is no need to book him a hotel, a reserved stable will be enough", Fok added

Seven years ago, Fok witnessed the moment when Beijing was announced the host city of the 2008 Olympic Games during the 112th International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Moscow.

Fok said athletes from Hong Kong would try their utmost to honor their country and he hoped the spectators in Beijing would give applauds to cheer them up.

Hong Kong sends 35 athletes to Beijing to participate in 11 sports - cycling, table-tennis, windsurfing, swimming, track and field, equestrian, fencing, badminton, shooting, rowing and triathlon.

(Xinhua News Agency August 4, 2008)