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)