New Athens airport to Piraeus rail link a timesaver June 6, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Transport AirSeaLand.add a comment
Greece has begun operating a train between the Athens airport and the port of Piraeus, the country’s biggest transit point for tourists visiting the Greek islands.
The trip between the airport and the port on the suburban rail link takes less than an hour. Previously, visitors arriving at Athens airport took a subway into the city center and then a bus or train to the port, a trip that could take about two hours. Tourists often choose to skirt the Greek capital and fly directly to the Greek islands.
Greece spent about $13.5 billion to upgrade airport, transit and highway facilities to prepare for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. The infrastructure projects have helped draw tourists back to the Greek capital. Arrivals to Greece rose in 2005, after five years of declines. Athens’ airport, the country’s biggest, had a record 15 million people pass through last year.
The Transport Ministry is also in talks with local Municipalities to extend the line from the airport to the port of Lavrio, providing another direct link to one of the busiest passenger ports.
Workshop on marine genomics to be held in Greece June 6, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Shows & Conferences.add a comment
The Marine Genomics Europe Network will host a workshop entitled ‘Marine genomics: an ocean of techniques’ in Crete, Greece, from 8 to 11 October.
The workshop will focus on techniques and how they are used for studying different organisms and answering a wide range of biological questions. Topics for discussion will include genome analysis; functional analysis; and image analysis.
The event will also feature a session on career analysis. This will include talks and discussions on different aspects of career development at a European level; within academia as well as within applied science and industry.
For more information, please visit > http://www.marine-genomics-europe.org
Athens, Greece to host 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games June 6, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Olympic Games.add a comment
Special Olympics International announced today that Athens, Greece, will be the host city for the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games. The decision came during today’s meeting of the Special Olympics International Board of Directors.
The 2011 World Summer Games are expected to draw more than 7,000 athletes from nearly 170 countries, as well as tens of thousands of volunteers, event officials, coaches, families, spectators and journalists from around the world. The Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens will be the largest sporting event in the world during 2011. The 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games will take place in Shanghai on 2-11 October.
The other finalist sites for the 2011 World Games were Cleveland, Ohio, and Rabat, Morocco. Cleveland and Rabat, lost out to Athens, Greece, in the bidding for the 2011 Special Olympics. The Special Olympics attracts 7,500 athletes from more than 150 countries and can boost a local economy by more than $100 million. Cleveland hoped to land the Special Olympics based on its well-received hosting of the 2004 International Children’s Games with 2,200 athletes.
“With so many outstanding cities in contention, it was a very difficult and close decision,” said Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver. “The bidding process was extremely rigorous and the final decision came after much consideration, but ultimately the Board concluded that Athens was the most appropriate city to host the next Special Olympics World Summer Games.”
The bidding and site review process took place over a period of 18 months and involved site visits by senior Special Olympics officials.
“Athens provides outstanding venues and demonstrates the knowledge, understanding and excitement around our athletes, the goals of the movement and the overall experience expected from a World Games event,” said Lee Todd, Special Olympics’ Chief of World Games and Competition.
Athens also will be the starting point for the 2007 Law Enforcement Torch Run, a biennial event held in honor of the Special Olympics World Games, in which law enforcement officers from around the world gather to carry the “Flame of Hope” to symbolize the courage of Special Olympics athletes and celebrate the diversity of the global movement, which includes 2.5 million athletes from 165 nations.
The torch will be lit on 29 June at a ceremony in Athens, Greece, that is in keeping with the ancient Olympic tradition of igniting the flame at the Acropolis using the rays of the sun. It will then be carried for the next three months by Special Olympic athletes and law enforcement personnel across five continents, stopping in Cairo, London, Hong Kong, Washington DC, Tokyo, Taipei, Macau, Seoul and Sydney, before arriving in China for the 2007 World Games, where it will ignite the giant Opening Ceremonies Cauldron.
“Athens has an ancient tradition of sports excellence and we know this great city will provide an outstanding global platform to showcase the courage, dedication and talents of the athletes of Special Olympics,” Shriver said. “We look forward to working closely with the organizing committee to create an event that will leave a lasting legacy for people with intellectual disabilities from around the world.”
Special Olympics is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through sports training and competition. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and competition to 2.5 million adults and children with intellectual disabilities across 165 countries. The Special Olympics movement offers one of the world’s greatest platforms for acceptance and inclusion for all people-regardless of race, religion, ethnicity or cultural differences. Find out how you can become involved at > http://www.specialolympics.org
Related Links > http://www.specialolympics.org
WPPA Class 1 World Powerboat Championship in Greece June 6, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Aquatics.add a comment
The Greek Grand Prix at Palaio Faliro-Athens, kick-starts this season’s WPPA Class 1 World Powerboat Championship on Sunday.
The weekend’s formalities get underway on Friday, June 8, with technical scrutineering and the first official two-hour practice session on the race course starting at 15.30 hrs. Saturday morning offers teams the chance to carry out testing between noon and 13.30hrs, before the revised Edox Pole Position competition fires into life at 16.00hrs.
The Greek Grand Prix takes place on Sunday, June 10th. Teams will be permitted an hour of official practice from noon and the race takes place at the later time of 17.00hrs over 21 laps of a new course and a total distance of 96.63Nm. This consists of a 4.81Nm start lap, 18 runs across the 4.54Nm course and two long laps of 5.05Nm.
The fastest Irish man June 6, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Athletics.add a comment
Paul Hession smashes Irish 100m record in Greece
Athenry sprinter Paul Hession became the fastest Irish man ever over 100m when he smashed the record in Greece at the weekend.
The 24 year old won in a time of 10.28 to smash Paul Brizzel’s previous record of 10.35 when he set in Finland in 2000.
Hession, who is determined to wrap up his Olympic qualification this season and who is preparing to peak at the World Championships in Japan in August, was in superb form in his first race of the season. Later in the evening he also won the 200m event at Kalamata, clocking 20.67, just short of his personal best of 20.56 which he posted in Malmo last season.
His double win means the Athenry Athletic Club member has now qualified for the 100m and 200m at the World Championships in Osaka in August. His next meet will be in Stavanger in Norway next Wednesday, while two days later he will compete at the prestigious Golden League meeting in Oslo.
Greece and China boost tourism relations June 6, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Tourism.add a comment
Greece and China on Wednesday agreed to a series of actions aimed to boosting bilateral tourism relations, beginning with a finalised date on holding a joint Greek-China commission on tourism in October.
The issue was discussed during a meeting between Greek Tourism Development Minister Fani Palli Petralia and her Chinese counterpart Shao Qiwei, the Athens News Agency reports. The two Ministers agreed that Greece would host Chinese journalists and tourism school students from China during the summer. Greece will be the honoured country in Beijing International Trade Exhibition, June 21-23, with China organising a Greek cultural year in 2007.
Speaking to reporters, Sho Qiwei praised the very good cooperation between the two parties and noted that each meeting resulted to something very important.
grhomeboy
