July 03, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 28, 1429

BEIJING, July 2: UN chief Ban Ki-moon Wednesday hailed China’s preparations for the Beijing Olympics after visiting the “most impressive” Bird’s Nest stadium.

“This is really fantastic, (the) most impressive I have ever seen,” Ban said after a brief tour of the main Olympics venue.

“The facilities and technologies all seem to be excellent. We have only 37 days to go before the Olympic Games opening ceremony.”

“I am quite confident that the Beijing Olympic Games will be the most ever successful Olympics in the history of the Olympic Games,” he added.

Ban said he hoped the global gathering of athletes and fans will promote friendship and peace around the world.

“I hope this Olympic Games will be a venue where all athletes and people of the world will promote mutual understanding, harmony, reconciliation and friendship on the basis of fair competition,” he told reporters.

“Let us work together so that the whole international community will be the gold medallists through this Olympic Games, through demonstration of friendship, cooperation and mutual understanding,” he said.

Ban arrived in Beijing Tuesday as part of an East Asia tour during which he also visited Japan and South Korea.—AFP