Samaranch Tells Barcelona to Solve Problems

Officials responsible for the staging of the 1992 Olympic Games must make “drastic and urgent” decisions to ensure that Barcelona is ready for the event, International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch said Wednesday.

Samaranch made the statement after an emergency meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez in Madrid.

Samaranch, a Barcelona native recently reelected to head the IOC, requested the meeting because of problems at the World Cup track and field meet Sept. 8-10 in Barcelona’s Montjuic stadium, where most of the Olympic events are to be held.

Athletes, reporters and officials complained of poor organization, faulty facilities at the stadium, built in 1929 and undergoing remodeling; insufficient hotels, and monumental traffic jams in Spain’s second-largest city.