Greece

Following the conclusion of the Sydney Olympics, organisers of the next Games have spoken confidently of it matching the success achieved by the Australian city.

The woman running a race against the clock to stage the 2004 Olympics in Athens has dismissed talk that the city could lose the Games and said the Greek capital would lay on a sporting show to rival Sydney's success.

United Parcel Service (UPS) will reconsider at the end of the year whether to sponsor further Olympic Games after the treatment given by the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG).

Senior officials behind the Sydney Olympics could be offered consultancy contracts for the Athens Games in 2004.

IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch and the vice-president and minister for foreign affairs of Greece, George Papandreou, will host a joint press conference on Wednesday in Sydney on the establishment of the International Olympic Truce Centre.

A million people turned central Sydney into a giant street party on Thursday to celebrate the arrival of the flame that heralds the opening of the biggest Olympic Games in history.

Beleaguered Athens 2004 Olympics organisers have rejected accusations of overspending from politicians and the media and denied that they were paid exorbitant salaries.

Audio, television and video manufacturer Panasonic has renewed its global sponsorship deal for the next series of Olympic Games.

The International Olympic Committee has confirmed that Athens has made progress in putting its troubled plans to stage the 2004 Olympics back on track but warned that time was tight.

Worldwide Olympic Partner Samsung Electronics has unveiled the centrepiece of its $200 million global marketing campaign and signed an agreement to continue its sponsorship for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games and the Athens Olympic Games in 2004.

Greek national players will get record bonuses if they qualify for the World Cup finals.

Huge time-zone differences and an explosion in computer use will make Sydney's Olympics the biggest event yet on the Internet with officials predicting a staggering 6.5 billion hits for the official Games site alone.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said that Greece must run a marathon at sprinting speed to make up for delays in organising the 2004 Games in Athens.

Holders Real Madrid will find out their first opponents in the 2000/2001 Champions League on

The IOC has began evaluating Greece's plans for the 2004 Athens Olympics after handing the country a serious warning over delays in key sectors earlier this year.

Five bids have been submitted in the tender for the appointment of a technical consultant for the construction of the Olympic Village, the Athens 2004 Organising Committee have said.