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Sydney jealous: best games ever
19:39 AEST Tue Jun 8 2004

Fears that the phrase "best Games ever" might be repeated outside Sydney may help explain Australian concerns over security in Athens, according to Greece's top Olympics official.

Deputy Culture Minister Fani Palli-Petralia's comments follow outrage from Greek officials and Athens Games organisers over the Australian government's recent move to upgrade travel warnings for visitors to Greece.

The travel warning plus Australian media coverage of other Games security issues, including a spat between the two countries over the Olympic torch relay, has also upset the Greeks.

Petralia said she would never forget being in Sydney for the 2000 Games closing ceremony and hearing then International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Juan Antonio Samaranch describe the event as the "best Games ever".

"Maybe they (the Australians) don't want to to hear again in any country (the IOC president saying) ... it's 'the best Games ever'," she said.

Petralia and her lieutenant, culture ministry secretary-general Spyros Capralos, hosted a gathering of international media at a swanky Athens restaurant.

They moved from table to table, fielding journalists' questions on Games preparations and security, responding with re-assurances that Greece was ready to welcome the world for the August 13-29 Olympics and shrugging off concerns over project cost blow-outs.

New government promotional literature distributed to media guests features updated images of 26 Olympics projects and the slogan "Ready for the world" on its front cover.

Petralia gave assurances that cost blow-outs in Olympics-related expenditure would not leave Greece in deep debt in years to come and Greeks were preoccupied with pride in the Games returning to their birthplace.

"We Greeks have the Olympics in our DNA," Petralia said.

She said much of the extra cost in staging the Olympics had been due to venues being brand new, making direct comparisons to Sydney.

"I have the experience of Sydney," Petralia said.

She said Greek athletes stayed "in containers in the heat".

"It will not happen in Greece, we built everything brand new," Petralia said.

Capralos put the cost of the Olympics at 4.6 billion euro ($A8.04 billion), the government's latest estimate, with the culture and public works ministries quoting cost over-runs of between 30 and 40 per cent.

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