A: Media accreditation for all Olympic sports were centrally handled by BOCOG and had closed in July 2007, while for Paralympic sports had closed in end-2007. There are no facilities for late accreditation.

A: The Hong Kong Government's Information Services Department will set up a City Media Centre during the Olympic Equestrian Events to serve all non-accredited media.

Location: Exhibition Hall, 1/F Low Block, Hong Kong City Hall, Edinburgh Place, Central.

A: See above.

A : Hong Kong enjoys total press freedom within the laws of libel and decency. Therefore anyone can be interviewed with their consent through personal arrangements.

A : We are making good progress. The essential basic infrastructure is already in place and should be finalized by May 2008.

A : 15 riders from 7 nations competed, and gave their ' thumbs up' to both venues in Sha Tin and Beas River that will be used in the 2008 Games. The IOC President, Mr Jacques Rogge, and the President of the Federation Equestre Internationale, HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan, were also very happy with our preparations.

A : Hong Kong people feel it is appropriate that we as part of China should join with Beijing on this historic occasion of the 2008 Games. The Olympic spirit is catching on already, and people are responding enthusiastically. International horse shows held here have attracted as many as 10,000 spectators. The nine equestrian clubs in Hong Kong report a remarkable surge in interest, especially from young people, and now have waiting lists for membership.

A : The direct costs of staging the equestrian events have been paid by the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games. The costs for the design and construction work at the competition venues have been borne by HKJC, which has generously invested more than HK$800 million in preparing the necessary infrastructure.

The HK Government will fund the wide range of promotional activities that are being undertaken to spread the Olympic message of fair competition, peace and goodwill as broadly as possible among the public, so that everyone, young and old, can feel they have been touched by the Olympic spirit.

A : The HKSI athletes are sincerely appreciated for allowing their training base to be used for the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Venue (Sha Tin).

The Hong Kong Government has reprovisioned the Sports Institute at another location, at Wu Kai Sha, which is suitably well equipped just like the former premises. The Sports Institute is conveniently situated next to Hong Kong Jockey Club's Sha Tin racecourse, so several of the necessary equine facilities are right at hand for this main competition venue.

Some sections at Sha Tin and Beas River will remain available to jockeys and local equestrian riders for training.

A : Overall security will be handled by our Hong Kong Police. They are well experienced in dealing with security at major events. We want the Equestrian Events to be as free and open as possible, so that everyone can enjoy the Olympic spirit, both at the Sha Tin main venue and at Beas River, where the Cross-Country test of Eventing will be held. We are planning to accommodate as many as 18,000 spectators in Sha Tin.

A : For example, as far as street-level pollution is concerned, under government measures most cars in the 18,000 taxi fleet have switched to LPG, and half of the 4,300 minibus fleet has already done the same. Focus now is also on encouraging operators of old diesel trucks to make the switch. As for regional smog, we are working with the Guangdong provincial authorities to deal with this complex matter.

We do not expect pollution to have any serious adverse effect on the Equestrian Events. Close contact will be maintained with the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) in monitoring conditions.

A :HKO will provide a 24-hour weather monitoring service to our venue operation centre via a dedicated website. This data will assist our highly experienced veterinary staff in assessing the horses' health is not at risk in warm weather. As a leading racing city, Hong Kong has a long history of handling horses in varying weather conditions, hot and cold. Our vets are very experienced.

A : We will be working closely with HKO to monitor movement of any tropical storm that may pose a threat. Good experience was gained from the Good Luck Beijing - HKSAR 10th Anniversary Cup in August 2007 when a severe tropical storm did affect Hong Kong, and we had to adjust some of the starting times of our Eventing competition. (Severe Tropical Storm Pabuk, from August 5-11)

If a storm did cause the HKO to issue the No. 8 signal, upon which all non-essential operations in Hong Kong are advised to shut down, then of course we will be prepared to halt the Equestrian Events. We have allowed for this in our contingency plan.

A: We are recruiting volunteers to perform various back-up roles during the events. We will have 1,800 volunteers at work during the Olympics and another 600 during the Paralympics. They will be part of the legacy of the Olympics and Paralympics in Hong Kong.