Interview with Willi Kaltschmitt
Willi Kaltschmitt, the President of Guatemala Organising Committee and International Olympic Committee Member for Guatemala, commented for Russia Today on the voting procedure to select the host 2014 Winter Olympics.
Russia Today: It has been quite a long road for Sochi, Salzburg and Pyeongchang to come here now to Guatemala, but it has also been a long road for Guatemala to host the 119th IOC session, hasn't it?
Willi Kaltschmitt: Well, definitely. We knew that it was a challenging event, it was going to be tough, but in the end it is all running very well. We love having all the candidates. Without candidates there is no winter Games and no Olympic movement. So we are grateful for the candidatures and for the people who are visiting Guatemala and are supporting their own bids.
RT: What has the road been like to here? There has been a series of different stages, hasn't there?
W.K.: Well, at the beginning when we were awarded by the IOC we were very happy. We are still happy but we didn't know how much infrastructure and technological means we needed to have which will be good for the country anyway. This is one of the toughest sessions from that point of view. We are very happy to have all the people here, and the Presidents. I said hello to Mr Putin yesterday and also to other Presidents. But it's very important for this country, especially, and I hope that after this event will bring many, many visitors to our country.
RT: As an IOC member, you'll be in the room when the secret ballot is cast. You can't go into details of that for obvious reasons, but you've also been there when the previous ballots for other games have been cast. Can you tell us what the atmosphere is like at this kind of session?
W.K.: The feeling I always have is like I wish to do an Olympic bid. We have met all these wonderful people who are working so tough to get the Winter Olympics to their country, making such efforts. And you have to decide what the best country from your own point of view is. It's tough. I think all the cities are prepared very well, they have the capacities and infrastructure, according to the report that we have. And I wish all the best and thank them for doing those efforts.
