SPIEGEL:

The Athens Olympic Games are the first since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. Will they be "games of fear?"

Bakojannis: I hope not. However, the terrorist attacks in New York changed the world completely - and of course, we too were affected. The Olympics had to be adapted to an extremely unsafe world. Who would have thought it possible that we would need a security program costing more than a billion Euros? After all, none of this is without consequences. But this makes it all the more important not to abandon the world's biggest peaceful event, not to give in to terror.

SPIEGEL: Now we will have "peaceful games" in a high-security environment.

Bakojannis: We plan to provide a cheerful environment by hosting 670 cultural events in the streets of Athens. No one will feel as though they were in a bunker.

SPIEGEL: These colorful street festivals will also require police protection. 70,000 security officers are being deployed. Frogmen will be patrolling the port of Piraeus, and AWACs aircraft and a high-tech blimp will be keeping an eye on every sparrow in Athens' air space. Thousands of cameras and microphones will monitor every human movement. So is "Big Brother" part of the games this year?

Bakojannis: Unfortunately, there is no other option. Nevertheless, I am convinced that a joyful Olympic spirit will prevail. The people will have these police officers, aircraft and cameras to protect them, but they will not think about them.

We just had to do everything possible to make sure that these games can even take place in a time of global terrorist threat. After all, the Olympics are not just a major sporting or consumer event, but also a cultural event with a three thousand-year history, a symbol of our system of values. They are a peaceful gathering of all people, without regard to their culture or religion.

SPIEGEL: You yourself have suffered as a result of terrorist attacks. In 1989, members of a leftist extremist group murdered your husband, the politician Pavlos Bakojannis. And you were also the target of a recent attack...

Bakojannis: ... yes, it was a year and a half ago, but I was lucky. For many years, we had problems with our own Greek terrorist groups. But they have been under control for about the past two years, and most key figures have been arrested. Compared to most European countries, we have the best relationship with our Muslim population, which represents another risk factor, if you will. We certainly don't expect any threat from that quarter.

SPIEGEL: Americans, Britons and Israelis are bringing in their own armed bodyguards. Is this compatible with the Olympic spirit, which is precisely what you intend to preserve here?

Bakojannis: How do you know that? Our government has said that there will be no armed foreign bodyguards in Greece.

SPIEGEL: Everyone knows that this isn't true. Don't you?

Bakojannis: I assume that although we have many foreign security specialists here, the Greek police will be the only armed contingent.

SPIEGEL: The centerpiece of the entire Olympic security system is also controversial: A network of cameras is supposed to enable computers to detect potential terrorists before they can act. How did the most recent tests look?

Bakojannis: It worked very well, far better than expected.

SPIEGEL: But how can your high-tech miracle detect first-time terrorists, people of whom nothing is known and therefore for whom you have no information on file?

Bakojannis: We did not develop the software, so I cannot comment on it. It is possible that there are gaps in the system, but we must look at the components of our security program together with all other systems, which overlap one another. When one system doesn't provide full coverage, another one takes over. When I consider the whole picture, I believe that Athens will be the safest place in the world during the Olympic Games.

SPIEGEL: An ambitious claim. Have you consulted the Oracle of Delphi on this matter?

Bakojannis: Yes, and the Oracle of Delphi says: "Everything will work out for the best!"

SPIEGEL: Of course, visitors will not be as pleased when being ripped off by Athens' bar and restaurant owners, taxi drivers and hoteliers. Up to 500 Euros a night in a standard room, ten times the usual rate - which explains why 6,000 rooms are still available.

Bakojannis: Prices have been dropping again for weeks. Some business owners speculated a little too much. They thought that this would be another Sydney, that the Olympic family will accept anything, at any price. Things are different today.

SPIEGEL: What remains?

Bakojannis: What remains is that the Olympic Games will take Athens, and Greece, a big step forward, just as the Olympics helped transform Barcelona into a leading center for international tourism. It's a model we intend to emulate. As was the case with Barcelona prior to the Olympics, Athens has been virtually non-existent, little more than a way station, on the map of popular tourist destinations.

SPIEGEL: Athens is noisy, dirty, chaotic. Anyone bound for the islands is unlikely to spend more than a day there.

Bakojannis: That may have been true in the past, but Athens is a completely different city today. It has a well-functioning bus and streetcar system, it has the world's most beautiful subway through ancient sites, and it is clean and much greener than in the past. Nowadays it's certain worthwhile to spend a week there.

SPIEGEL: Are you painting a rosy future to conceal a dismal present? Far fewer people are likely to travel to the Olympics than expected.

Bakojannis: That remains to be seen. At first, we were afraid that we wouldn't have enough hotel space. But now we have plenty of places to stay. Private rooms are also still available.

SPIEGEL: What's the situation with tickets?

Bakojannis: 3 million of a total of 5.3 million tickets have been sold. Especially the expensive tickets are almost all gone. However, many of the cheaper tickets are still available. But don't worry, these will not be "Olympic Games in empty stadiums," as I've read in the press. We will achieve our objective of filling all stadiums to at least 70% of capacity. After all, Greeks are well-known for making last-minute decisions on whether to head for a stadium or watch a sailing regatta.

SPIEGEL: So things are looking good for someone who is just now deciding to travel to Athens?

Bakojannis: Absolutely. In fact, the tickets for many major events only recently became available.

SPIEGEL: Of course, the other question is: Is the cost and effort worth it for a normal visitor to the Olympics, when many events are really just intended for television cameras, which bring in most of the money?

Bakojannis: Of course people can watch the Olympic Games on TV, and countless millions will certainly do just that. But to be here, to participate, to experience the atmosphere, that's an entirely different thing. There isn't anything more exciting.