Media And Broadcast Centres Open In Athens

The Main Press Centre (MPC) and the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) are the first Olympic venues to open for business.

Members of the international press corps started to move into their offices on Tuesday 13 July 2004. Delivered on schedule, the MPC will welcome 5,500 accredited media representatives from now until the end of the Games, while the IBC will be home to approximately 10,000 broadcasters, as the nerve centre for all broadcast operations during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The MPC and the IBC will be two of the Olympic venues with the longest operational periods.

MPC – From Athens to your newsagent
The MPC is located at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex (OAKA) and will serve as home to all accredited written press, photographers and non-rights-holding broadcasters. It will be open 24 hours a day from 27 July and will remain open until the end of the Games. The MPC is composed of the fully-revamped HELEXPO building (the National Exhibition Organiser), as well as two other new modern structures, which, connected, make up the largest such centre in Olympic Games history (52,000 m2). The IOC Communications Department and ATHENS 2004 will both be present on-site during the Games.

IBC – Moving images of the Games for the world
The IBC is also located at OAKA, and is adjacent to the MPC. It will be the base for all the Rights-Holding Broadcasters (RHBs) and will be the centre of all broadcast operations undertaken by the Host Broadcasting Organisation, Athens Olympic Broadcasting (AOB). The IBC will be the world’s largest broadcast centre, operating 24 hours a day and covering more than 70,000 m2. It will offer a full range of services to the broadcasters, including shops, restaurants and medical services, and will allow the world’s television viewers to get a front row seat at the Games.

Next week ISAF will be announcing its media plans for covering the 2004 Olympic Sailing Competition – information will also be distributed to all MNA’s and Classes.