Olympic co-hosts express confidence

Officials from six Olympic co-host cities said yesterday preparatory work was progressing smoothly and the Games would be successful.

The coastal city of Qingdao in Shandong province will host the sailing events, Hong Kong the equestrian events, while Tianjin, Qinhuangdao, Shenyang and Shanghai will host the soccer preliminaries.

Thanks to the two Olympic test events in 2006 and last year, Qingdao has gained ample experience in running international sailing regattas and has won the recognition of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).