The main Olympic stadium in Athens was set to stage the Greek athletics championships but only 8,000 spectators will be able to enter the partially completed arena and officials warned that conditions will be basic.

　　The three-day meeting will be the first and last chance to test the heavily delayed showpiece venue under competitive conditions before the August 13-29 Games.

　　Work will continue on site until the athletes arrive, said Athens organizing committee venue manager Thanasis Papageorgiou. "We are working night and day and we are entering the final phase both in and around the stadium."

　　Builders will then take a 72-hour breather before re-starting on June 13, two months before the opening ceremony. The dress rehearsal will be authorities' only chance to simulate games conditions for crowd management and security procedures.

　　"People coming to the championships should know that the venue is safe," said Papageorgiou. "The police are doing their job. They have been at the venue doing a (security) sweep since yesterday," he added.

　　The championships will give fans the first chance to sit in the shade of the 150-million euro roof designed by celebrated Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.

　　Delays to the futuristic dome were the main concern of the International Olympic Committee and held up work on the stadium proper. The second of the two giant steel arches that will support the translucent blue structure was slid into place only four days ago.

　　The championships will also give Greek athletes a head start against their foreign rivals. Hurdler Pericles Iakovakis said: "It's a unique chance to get to know the new track, to see how the wind blows and what conditions are like."

　　Greek olympic and world 200-meter sprint champion Costas Kenteris will race for the first time in a year.

　　More than 2 million visitors are expected to arrive in the Greek capital when the action begins for real in August, Athens airport authorities announced on Tuesday.

　　(Reuters)