IOC President Jacques Rogge said the Beijing Games have left a great legacy for Beijing and the whole of China. (Photo: CCTV.com) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Aug. 26 -- IOC President Jacques Rogge has said the Beijing Olympic Games has made history. He said the Games have left a great legacy for Beijing and the whole of China. And he stressed that the Olympics also enhanced the mutual understanding of China and the world.

    A grand gathering of 204 IOC members. 38 world records and 120 Olympic records. These achievements are unprecedented. IOC chief, Jacques Rogge, declared the Beijing Olympic Games a milestone in the development of the international Olympic movement.

    Jacques Rogge, IOC President says "BOCOG has clearly put the athletes in the center of these games. We have this splendid village. We have the state-of-the-art venues. We have impeccable operations. "

    Rogge said the venues and facilities will leave a rich legacy for the host city.

    Jacques Rogge, IOC President says "These are the sports venues that have been built and have been very intelligently embedded into the universities for the most part. And the after-the-games use of the venues will be optimal. These venues will be used on day-to-day basis by students, property owners, workers' unions. This is I believe a great legacy."

    Rogge also spoke about the intangible legacy of the Games. He noted that the Olympic Games have greatly raised awareness of environmental protection in China. He spoke of the efforts of the Chinese government throughout the Games and the policies and measures that he said would surely benefit the nation in the long run. He also said the IOC was very glad to see the enormous enthusiasm for sports among 1.3 billion Chinese people because of the Games.

    Jacques Rogge, IOC President says "And the biggest intangible legacy of the games, and also a very important one, is that though the games, China has been scrutinized by the world. China has opened up to the world. The world has learned about China. And China has learned ore about the world. And I believe this will have positive impact in the long term."

    Rogge said Beijing has raised the bar for the organization of future Olympic Games. But he said he hoped those Games would also be able to surprise the world.

(Source: CCTV.com)