 |
At the 92nd meeting of the Executive Board, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) officially urged: 'the play of the advantages of the socialist system, enhancement of efficiency and coordination, integration of resources from various areas and mobilization of all forces in the city, with an aim of fully meeting the Games-time requirements and ensuring an Olympics characterized with distinctive Chinese features and high qualities.'
We are not entirely sure what all that means, but here is our alternative list of Top 10 things you might not know about the 2008 Beijing Olympics:
1 |
The right to host the Games of the 29th Olympiad in 2008 was awarded to Beijing on 13 July, 2001. The Chinese capital, which had twice previously failed in bids to land the Games, beat Toronto, Istanbul, Osaka and Paris during the IOC vote, which was announced in Moscow. |
|
|
2 |
At 20:08 on 08/08/2008 the flame will be lit in the new Bird’s Nest National Stadium. Eight is China’s luckiest number. The Games will run from 8 to 24 August. |
|
|
3 |
Official Olympic merchandise bears the images of five 'Fuwa' (good-luck) mascots – which were originally called the 'Five Friendlies' until Beijng officials got their English pronunciation confused and thought that this could be translated as 'Five Friendless,' and promptly changed the name. The cartoon figures of a giant panda, Tibetan antelope, Olympic flame, a fish and a swallow are called Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini. Take the first part of each name and put them together, and you get: 'Beijing Huanying Ni' or 'Beijing Welcomes You.' |
|
|
4 |
The official Beijing 2008 Olympic slogan is 'One World, One Dream.' Beijing’s arch nemesis Shanghai appears, however, to have aimed an unsubtle dig at the capital with its own slogan for hosting the 2010 World Expo: 'Better City, Better Life.' |
|
|
5 |
In January, global media communications agency Initiative Sports Futures – a propos of pretty much nothing – predicted that the Beijing Games opening ceremony could become the first sporting event to attract a total live audience of one billion people. |
|
|
6 |
NBC will broadcast the Beijing Olympics in Chinese for the first time ever in the United States. NBC is teaming up with Multicultural Radio Broadcastings Inc. to co-produce the coverage for team events, such as football, baseball and basketball, and will offer daily highlights in Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese. |
|
|
7 |
Though multiple millions of corporate dollars are being spent on official Olympic sponsorships, some commentators believe the Beijing Olympics will be a veritable ambush marketing fest. 'The Olympics are always a showcase for truly strategic ambushes, and there are a few additional factors that make Beijing even more attractive to ambushers,' says sports sponsorship expert, Kim Skildum-Reid. Read our interview here. |
|
|
8 |
Last November, Beijing ordered that all hotels in the city provide condoms in every bedroom in a bid to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. The move was announced after cases of HIV infection rose 54 per cent in the first 10 months of 2007. While hotels must provide condoms for their guests, China’s state media agency Xinhua said each one would be free to set its own condom pricing policy. |
|
|
9 |
'I have had asthma for a few months now and I felt very bad in New York at the end of the US Open, so I was really concerned about Beijing. It's true that Beijing is going to be tough at the Olympic Games with the problem I have, but it seems that everything is under control which is important because the Olympic Games are a very important goal for me in 2008.' World Tennis Number One, Justine Henin, is one of many athletes to have voiced concerns about levels of air pollution during the Beijing Games. |
|
|
10 |
In February, China’s Ministry of Information Technology awarded six companies with a license to operate 3G phone services. ZTE, Hisense, New Postcom, Lenovo and Korea's Samsung and LG all gained the rights to provide 3G services in cooperation with China Mobile. The 3G mobile communication services are planned to be ready for operation before the Beijing Olympics. |
For regular news updates and pre-Olympic comment, visit www.BizChinaUpdate.com. Also visit the official website of the
2008 Beijing Olympics.
|
