The eighth full visit of the IOC's Coordination Commission for the Beijing Games will get underway tomorrow in the Chinese capital - Beijing. The Commission, which is led by its Chairman, Hein Verbruggen, is back in town to hear about the progress of the Organising Committee for the 2008 Games (BOCOG) and to see first hand the state of preparations for this next edition of the Games. With less than 500 days to go until the Opening Ceremony of the Games on 8 August 2008, the Commission members will be hearing not just about preparations for the Games themselves but also about BOCOG's involvement in the Good Luck Beijing test events, which will give the Games organisers the opportunity to check their progress ahead of the Games themselves.

Client Focus

The Commission will look at a number of functional areas of BOCOG, including the environment, human resources, medical and technology, which will all be crucial to successful operations at Games time. However, the principal focus of the Commission's meetings will be on the services for different client groups such as the athletes, the media, the National Olympic Committees, spectators, the Olympic Family, the International Federations and the IOC partners. As always, the Commission will also look at the progress being made for the Paralympic Games.

The IOC Coordination Commission

The IOC, as the guardian of the Olympic Games, assists and monitors the work of Organising Committees for the Olympic Games through the work of the Coordination Commission. The Commission visits the host city once a year until four years from the Games, when the visits become twice yearly until the Games are held. The Commission's full meetings are supplemented by the regular visits of smaller IOC teams involving the Commission Chairman, selected members of the Commission and members of the IOC administration.

(Credit: IOC. Click here for further information.)