China rolled out the red carpet for an International Olympic Committee (IOC) evaluation team today as it began a four-day inspection of Beijing's bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games.
Senior Chinese leaders urged the committee to look favorably on Beijing's bid for the games and stressed the "historical" significance of allowing the world's most populous nation to host mankind's greatest sporting event.
"By having the 2008 Games in Beijing it will be the most precious and the most acclaimed historical decision," Beijing mayor Mr Liu Qi told the evaluation team this morning.
The 17-member commission, led by Mr Hein Verbruggen from the Netherlands, will begin inspecting the capital's gymnasiums and stadiums and reviewing Beijing's bid report submitted to the IOC in Geneva last month.
The commission is also expected to meet a senior Chinese leader, most likely President Jiang Zemin, this afternoon.
If awarded the games Beijing has pledged to build 11 new gymnasiums and six stadiums while constructing a massive 1,215-hectare (3,000-acre) Olympic Park in its northern district as the site of the Olympic Village and an 80,000-seat main Olympic Stadium.
While Chinese sports officials have viewed Beijing's worsening air pollution as a crucial obstacle, IOC members have stated privately that China's "dismal" human rights record is the biggest problem.
After Beijing, the commission will evaluate the other candidate cities - Osaka, Toronto, Istanbul and Paris.
AFP