A BBC director believes covering next summer's Commonwealth Games will be

one of the station's toughest ever tests.

Malcolm Kemp, director of Games programming, said the 17-sport event would pose a greater challenge to producers than the football European Championships held in England in 1996.

But after ironing out problems with some of the events, he is confident the Games will prove to be a huge success for the BBC and the country.

He said the station would be putting all of its available resources into covering the 10-day occasion.

And he slammed critics who call the event "the poor man's Olympics" saying: "These Games are not the poor man's anything."

Problems with potential rain at Rivington's cycle course have been resolved after the director vowed to use extra helicopters and motorcycle cameramen. Millions of pounds will be spent on next year's Commonwealth Games coverage and Mr Kemp said blank screens during the cycling event would not be an option for the Beeb.

New tests had confirmed bad weather would not cause filming problems for the event.

He said: "The track is now absolutely fine. We have conducted tests and believe we can cover the event to the standards people have come to expect from the BBC.

"We have a great working relationship with the Commonwealth Games organisers and the British Cycling Federation and that will continue in the future."

He heaped particular praise on Bolton Arena - home of the Commonwealth Games' badminton tournament - which he said was a match for any in the world.

Mr Kemp believed the £15 million Arena, while smaller than some other's worldwide, would provide a perfect backdrop for television coverage.

He said: "It's a world class sporting venue and it would look great on camera, especially if it is full."

Mr Kemp, who has covered the Olympic Games in the past, has also overseen a number of Commonwealth Games including Kuala Lumpur in 1998 and Auckland in 1990. Some cynics have suggested the Commonwealth event is second best

to the Olympics, which Manchester bid for in 1996 and 2000.

But Mr Kemp said: "Any talk about it being the poor man's Olympics is just

silly.

"It's not the poor man's anything. It's has nothing to do with being poor or the Olympics. It's a big, respected event and it always attracts a very good atmosphere.

"We are treating the event incredibly seriously - when has the BBC not done that.

"A billion people will watch the event across the world. That's how big it is."

Bolton will be hosting the badminton and cycling events from July 25 to August 4.