Threat of Olympic boycotts dismissed

[Harry]

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge and Beijing Olympic organizers are confident that the Games will be a success despite threats of boycotts and a decision by Hollywood director Steven Spielberg to pull out as an advisor to the opening and closing ceremonies.

The confidence was bolstered by the organizers' confirmation that pressure from human rights groups - which claim China is not doing enough to tackle the Darfur crisis - had not influenced Games sponsors or the success of the marketing program.

"I have much respect for Spielberg's decision; and if an athlete doesn't want to go, I'll respect that, too. But the Games will be a success, without a doubt," Rogge said in an interview published on Tuesday in sports daily Marca. "The Games are bigger than any one person."

Rogge noted that the United States' boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games to protest Russia's invasion of Afghanistan did not ruin the event.

"The most powerful man in the world, the most influential (then-US president Jimmy Carter) ordered a boycott and the Games were still a success," Rogge said.

[Harry]

Rogge expects many heads of state - including US President George W. Bush, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy - to attend the opening ceremony.

Rogge said: "I think boycotts are a thing of the past, not of the present nor the future."

He reiterated that the IOC would not tolerate athletes mixing politics with sport, especially on the podium.