Nonaccredited press given Olympic access

Nonaccredited press given Olympic access

JAKARTA (JP): With a mounting ambition to become the best host
for the Olympic Games ever in history, the New South Wales and
federal governments are setting up a "non-accredited" media
center to be called the Sydney Media Center at Darling Harbour
near downtown Sydney.

Public Affairs Counselor at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta,
Kirk Coningham, told reporters Tuesday that the center is
designed to serve all well-known media regardless of Olympic
accreditation.

"We expect a total of 15,000 journalists from all over the
world to cover the Olympics and we hope they write not only about
the Games but also about Australia itself. Therefore we are
providing the media center," he said at a briefing in the
Australian Embassy in South Jakarta.

The National Sports Council (KONI) only received a limited
number of accreditation forms from the Sydney Organizing
Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG). Therefore many non-
accredited journalists will cover the quadrennial event using the
facilities available at the center as they will not be allowed to
enter sports venues.

The center provides on-site color-negative film processing and
printing for photographers, work stations for print journalists
and a main conference room that can accommodate up to 500
persons.

Four well-known broadcasters, Octagon CSI, Global Television,
All Media Sports and Newsforce/Globecast are jointly supplying
information to the center.

Besides the Games, Sydney will also host the Olympics Arts
Festival, which will feature the performance of Andrea Boccelli
at the Superdome in the Olympic Park in Homebush Bay on Aug. 19
and the Sydney Opera House on Sept. 14. (yan)