500 days and counting

October 27 marks 500 days until the opening ceremony for the 2007 World Cup on Sunday March 11, 2007, and it's a landmark that event officials and stakeholders should be keenly aware of, explained Donald Lockerbie, the venue development director.

Currently in the midst of preparing for a venue summit happening next week in Barbados, he noted: "500 days is a significant milestone. The next 365 days are really most important because the end of October 2006 is the time all host venues have contracted to have the permanent sections of their stadiums completed." The remainder of the time will be spent outfitting each tournament venue - to ICC specifications - to host the biggest and most spectacular matches in international cricket.

"That leaves us with 135 days to get stadiums event-ready. These 500 days will therefore be the busiest as far as venue development is concerned. It will be very exciting for the region," added Lockerbie, who is also chief operating officer at the tournament.

Staff at the World Cup offices in Kingston, Jamaica, celebrated the occasion with photographs at their headquarters on St. Lucia Avenue and in CWC Park - a green space adopted by ICC CWC WI 2007 Inc. - on the opposite side of the road. Flags of all nine host venue nations, the 16 participating teams in the 2007 tournament and the ICC were recently raised outside the premises. The tournament logo and a mascot, Mello, have also been erected on the exterior of the building.