By Zhang Jiawei

    MACAO, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing Games is "important" as a sign that the Olympic movement is being internationalized and embraces "all the continents of the rings of the Olympic symbol", the Chairman of the British Olympic Association (BOA), Colin Moynihan, said here in a recent interview with Xinhua.

    The UK Olympic chief pointed out that in the 21st century, the internationalization of the Olympic Games will become increasinglya challenge for the IOC (International Olympic Committee).

    "I think what we saw in the 20th century, with one or two exceptions like so, was what I called a Europe-centric, either an American or European, Games. What Rogge (IOC president) has decided to do is to internationalize the Games, and that is why it's so important the Games is coming to Beijing," he said.

    He also said he believed it would not be too long before the Games goes to India and countries in Africa.

    London is hosting the 2012 Games. Currently, well over 100 staff from the BOA were working alongside their counterparts from the BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad), in a bid to gain relevant experiences through the process of preparing and running the event.

    "I could write a book of 600 pages of things that we could learn from Beijing. The people of BOCOG and the Beijing government are being very friendly and very welcoming. They have allowed us to work alongside them in the whole of this process, understand how they are preparing for the Games, and how they would deliver the Games," said Moynihan, adding "their professionalism is being something which we very highly valued."

    The 53-year-old BOA chief was an Olympic cox for the Great Britain men's eight rowing squad in the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, earning a silver medal. He was also the minister for sport in the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher from 1987 to 1990.

    As a man who devoted much of his life to sport, the hosting of an Olympic Games is "a once in a life time opportunity for many of us involved with the Games".

    He said to prepare for the Games is "an upheaval", which is "a huge task for a city", and every aspect, including infrastructure, security, facilities, getting the hundreds of thousands of volunteers trained and supported, must be attended to.

    Therefore, despite some inconvenience brought into the daily lives of residents in Beijing during the preparing and running of the event, "I am sure the enthusiasm of the Chinese people will radiate through and I think the enthusiasm of the people of London will be the similar level of excitement in 2012," he said.

    "But it is a major challenge and a very big task, and that is why we are working so hard at the moment. So, of course, it is understandable as it has a wide reaching impact on Beijing. It will have a wide reaching impact on London," Moynihan also noted.

    As for the air quality of Beijing which has been the focus of recent media report, Moynihan said that he believes the Chinese authorities "have been remarkable in their commitment to improve the air quality for the athletes".

    "They have taken a series of measures at different times, including the closure of some of the most polluting factories, the reduction of cars on the roads, taking measures with regard to the timing of construction built in Beijing. All of these, I am sure, will benefit the air quality. Ultimately, it is nature that determines on whether there is wind, sunshine or rain...But we have seen in recent days a very considerable improvement," Moynihan pointed out.

    He also said that the pollution issue is just part of the challenges a host city of the Games will encounter.

    "Every Olympic Games has an issue. In Athens, the issue was would the facilities be finished on time? Would the security of the facilities be strong enough...Here everything was finished ahead of time. The qualities of the facilities are magnificent. The athletes who have arrived at the Olympic village are stunned by how outstanding it is," said Moynihan.

    "I am sure BOCOG will put on a great Games, But it would be impossible for everything to be perfect. We are all human beings and, in this case, the challenge of pollution is a significant one, one that the government, BOCOG and the IOC are doing everything they can to mitigate," he added.

    The UK has a total Olympic team of 313, two thirds of which came to Macao starting from the end of last month. They chose this island city, in the southern coast of China, as the location for their preparation camp. The UK swimmers went to Japanese city Osaka for pre-Games training, while the rest flew directly to Beijing.

    Asked if he agreed to equipping athletes with respiratory masks as some countries did, Moynihan said, "If the air quality deteriorates very significantly then we will need to talk to the IOC about what would be appropriate and suitable, but it is not my view that the use of masks is necessary at the moment."

    Moynihan also spoke very highly of Beijing's venues for the Olympic Games, "Look at the 'bird's nest', it is an amazing building; Look at the village, it is probably the best Olympic village in the history of the Olympic Games."

    Since the Olympiad will be held in London four years after the Beijing Games, London is also determined to run a successful event, but with less expenditure than Beijing.

    According to the BOA chief, an estimate of 9.3 billion pounds will be invested on infrastructure and venues, while another 2 billion pounds will be needed to actually put on the Games. The Team GB (the British Olympic team) will have a budget of 600 million pounds. The total is about 12 billion pounds.

    "Beijing's budget is significantly bigger than that. I would be completely honest that we don't have the money to match the quality of many of the facilities in Beijing," Moynihan said.

    However, he said he still expects the Beijing Games to earn money from tourism and merchandizing, as the sponsorship side has been very strong. "I think there will be a significant generation of income from the Games," he said.

    Given that the cost of holding a modern Olympic Games keeps rising, only a few cities around the world can afford the hosting of such event. The BOA chief said he also believed the issue of cost reduction should be seriously considered in the future Games.

    "It will certainly be less spent in London...but seeking to reduce the expenditure while still keeping the glory of the Olympic Games and the spotlight of the Games so strong every four years is a big challenge, and it is a challenge for the next generation of the IOC," he pointed out.

    "I think the IOC need to think carefully about how they can widen the appeal (of the Games) to more cities. Somehow seek to reduce the cost that is so heavy, which can only be borne by really a very few cities in the world. These are the challenges that need to be faced -- How you internationalize it; how you encourage more cities to be involved," he said.