2008 Summer Olympics
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The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, will be held in Beijing in the People's Republic of China from August 8, 2008 to August 24, 2008, with the opening ceremony to take place at 8 p.m. on August 8, 2008 (08-08-08-08 - the number 8 is associated with prosperity in Chinese culture). Some events, like beach volleyball, sailing, and open water swimming, will be held in the coastal city of Qingdao.
On July 8 2005, the International Olympic Committee announced that Hong Kong will hold the equestrian events at the site of the Hong Kong Sports Institute in Fo Tan, Sha Tin. The facilities of the Sports Institute may be moved to Wu Kai Sha. This will be the second time the same season of Olympic Games has been hosted by two National Olympic Committees. (A similar arrangement was in place between Melbourne, Australia, and Stockholm, Sweden, for the 1956 Summer Olympics).
Two new disciplines, open water swimming and BMX racing, were added to the Summer Olympic programme in 2008.
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Bidding Process
Template:Main Image:Beijingolympicsbidwin2.jpg Beijing was elected host city on July 13, 2001, during the 112th IOC Session in Moscow, beating out Toronto, Paris, Istanbul and Osaka. Prior to the session, five other cities submitted bids to the IOC but failed to make the shortlist in 2000: Bangkok, Cairo, Havana, Kuala Lumpur, and Seville.
Beijing previously bid to host the 2000 Summer Olympics, but lost out to Sydney (this would later spur an investigation into a possible scandal). The selection of Beijing as host city has been criticised by supporters of Tibetan independence and Taiwanese independence.
| 2008 Summer Olympics bidding results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | NOC | Round 1 | Round 2 | ||
| Beijing | Template:CHN | 44 | 56 | ||
| Toronto, Ontario | Template:CAN | 20 | 22 | ||
| Paris | Template:FRA | 15 | 18 | ||
| Istanbul | Template:TUR | 17 | 9 | ||
| Osaka | Template:JPN | 6 | - | ||
Preparations
Construction of all 2008 Summer Olympics venues is expected to be completed in 2007. Over 300,000 houses were demolished, and residents relocated from their homes thus far in Beijing, China, due to construction in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. [1] Beijing Police placed many people under arrest for protesting the evictions. The government intends to invest in thirty-seven new gymnasiums and stadiums as well as fifty-nine training centers. Its largest architectural pieces are the Beijing National Stadium, National Gymnasium, Olympic Aquatic Park, Convention Center, Olympic Village and Wukesong Cultural and Sports Center. US$2.1 billion or RMB¥17.4 billion in corporate bids and tenders are expected to fund almost 85 percent of the construction budget for the six main venues. Investments are expected from corporations seeking ownership rights after the 2008 Summer Olympics. Some venues will be owned and governed by the State General Administration of Sports which will use them after the Olympics as facilities for all future national sports teams. It was announced on July 8 2005 that the equestrian events were to be held in Hong Kong because of "uncertainties of equine diseases and major difficulties in establishing a disease-free zone".
Beijing National Stadium
The centerpiece of the 2008 Summer Olympics is the construction of the Beijing National Stadium which began on December 24, 2003. Government officials engaged architects worldwide in a design competition. A Swiss firm, Herzog & de Meuron Architekten AG, collaborated with China Architecture Design & Research Group to win the competition. The National Stadium will feature lattice-like concrete skeleton forming the stadium bowl which will seat 80,000 people. Architects originally described the overall design as resembling a bird's nest with an immense ocular — an opening with retractable roof over the stadium. However, in 2004 the roof part of the design was abandoned for cost and safety reasons. The National Stadium will be the site of the Opening Ceremony and Closing Ceremony as well as track and field events and soccer finals.
Guangdong Stadium
Built 100 miles north of Hong Kong in the city of Guangzhou, the Guangdong Stadium was opened to the public for the ninth National Games of the People's Republic of China in 2001. It was originally planned to be the centerpiece of the 2008 Summer Olympics until a decision was made to construct the National Stadium in Beijing. The original design for the Guangdong Stadium was announced in 1999. The stadium seats 80,000 people. Taking from Guangzhou's nickname as the Flower City, the American architectural firm of Ellerbe Becket designed Guangdong Stadium to resemble a flower. The design firm stated in its press release, "The stadium bowl grows out of the ground to a sculpted upper edge, like the petals of a flower. Floating above the bowl is a shimmering ribbon of roof flowing like a wave over the seats. It parts at the ends and holds the Olympic flame, suspended between the two ribbons. A hotel surrounds a circular opening in the roof that forms a vertical tower of light, which at night is visible for a great distance. The roof form undulates, making it different from any other stadium in China or the world."
Olympic House
Sports House, the administration centre of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, was renamed Olympic House on July 11, 2005. The Chairman of the International Olympic Committee and Timothy Fok, the chairman of the national olympic committee of Hong Kong, held the Olympic House Opening Ceremony and the IOC permitted the use of the emblem of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. This event symbolises that Hong Kong will hold the equestrian events and be one of the Olympic Cities in the world.
Marketing
Emblem
The 2008 Summer Olympics emblem entitled "Dancing Beijing" was unveiled in August 2003 in a ceremony attended by 2,008 people at Qin Nian Dian (祈年殿) — the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in Beijing's Temple of Heaven (天壇 or 天坛). The emblem combines elements of traditional Chinese society — a red seal and a calligraphic word for jing (京) ("national capital") with athletic features. According to the International Olympic Committee, the emblem is the first of the modern Olympics to use red as the dominant colour, an important colour for the Chinese people throughout its history. The open arms of the calligraphic word symbolizes the invitation of China to the world to share in its culture.
Rogge delivered an address at the unveiling ceremony saying, "Your new emblem immediately conveys the awesome beauty and power of China which are embodied in your heritage and your people." Rogge continued, "In this emblem, I saw the promise and potential of a New Beijing and a Great Olympics. This is a milestone in the history of your Olympic quest. As this new emblem becomes known around the world — and as it takes its place at the center of your Games — we are confident that it will achieve the stature of one of the best and most meaningful symbols in Olympic history."
Mascots
The Friendlies (福娃 Fúwá) were unveiled as the mascots of the games by the National Society of Chinese Classic Literature Studies on November 11, 2005 at an event marking the 1000th day before the opening of the games.
The friendlies consists of five members: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini. The five mascots incorporate fish, giant panda, fire, Tibetan antelope, and swallow designs respectively, and each also represents one of the five Olympic Rings. When the five names are put together, they form a pun on the phrase 北京欢迎你 (Běijīng huānyíng nǐ) which means "Beijing welcomes you".
Slogan
On June 26, 2005, The Beijing Olympic Committee announced that the slogan for the 2008 Olympics will be "One World, One Dream" (Template:Zh-st)
Torch relay
Twenty-eight cities around the world will be chosen to receive the global phase, 78 cities will receive on the domestic phase. Presented to the IOC in Moscow was the plan for a torch relay route that will take the Olympic flame through the sites of the great ancient civilizations - Greece, Italy, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, India and finally, China [2] - although the route through the Middle East may not be guaranteed due to the political climate in the region. The 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay will achieve a world record as the Olympic flame will be carried up to Mount Everest — known to the Tibetan people as Chomolangma (Template:Zh-st) — the world's highest peak and tallest mountain. It will be carried up the southern slope from Nepal before carried down the northern slope into the Autonomous Region of Tibet, and will be the highest altitude achieved in the history of Olympic torch relays, to be accomplished by eighty specially trained mountaineers. Liu Qi, president of the 2008 Olympics organizing committee, has also expressed the wish that the torch relay be carried through Taiwan. The overall course of the torch relay will take the Olympic flame from Athens through the Himalayas to Beijing and will be sponsored by soft drink giant, The Coca-Cola Company.
Participating NOCs
Template:Wikinews It is expected that the vast majority of the 202 competing nations in Athens 2004 will return, plus the recently accepted NOC of Marshall Islands should be expected at the Olympic Games increasing the number to 203.
Concerns surround the participation of Chinese Taipei (as the Republic of China (Taiwan) is known in the Olympics). President Chen Shui-bian's term does not expire until May 2008 and strained relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have led to fears that a Taiwanese boycott may occur in 2008.
The National Olympic Committee of Macao, China has not been accepted by the IOC as a member, although already a member of the Olympic Council of Asia. It is unlikely that Macao will participate at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
It seems very unlikely (close to impossible) that the Vatican City will enter. However, the entrance of Tuvalu (the remaining nation besides Marshall Islands that were not present at the 2004 Summer Olympics) is an open possibility provided that the country establishes a National Olympic Committee prior to IOC deadlines. Tuvalu has met with IOC president Jacques Rogge, and he seems happy enough that in 2007 at the IOC meeting Tuvalu will be voted into becoming a full Olympic member.
The nations of Serbia and Montenegro may yet compete separately; their citizens will participate in a referendum on the dissolution of their political union in May 2006.
A South Korea news agency has announced they and North Korea will discuss sending a united team to the 2008 Olympics. [3]
Boycotts
Image:Beijing2008GamesOverlogo.jpg
Students for a Free Tibet have started a campaign for boycotting Beijing Olympics on many grounds including the choice of the endangered Tibetan antelope (commonly known as "chiru") as one of five mascots for the Olympics. The organization claims that this is a transparent effort to convince the world that Tibet is a part of China and is meant to distract from their view that China has occupied Tibet for more than 50 years. They hold that such alleged propaganda to legitimize Chinese occupation of Tibet goes against the Olympic spirit. It also claims that the railway currently being constructed from Golmud to Lhasa may endanger the Tibetan antelope further, bringing in more ethnic Chinese people – and potentially more poachers - closer to the chiru's breeding grounds and habitat. The group claims that the Tibetan antelope, which the group uses to promote Tibetan independence[4], is a symbol of Tibet and does not represent China.
Numerous other opponents of the Chinese government, such as the Chinese democracy movement and Falun Gong, also held boycotts. It is very unlikely such boycotts by minor political groups will have any significant impact on the 2008 Olympic Games, as most previous Olympic Games were successfully held despite such boycotts.
"Olympic lawmaking"
Beijing municipal authority declared on April 10 2006, that more than 70 local laws and decrees would be made before the 2008 summer Olympics. These laws and decrees include banish local people who don't have Hukou of Beijing; banish vagrants, beggars, and people who have Mental illness from the city; strengthen border control; forcible "special holiday", or forcible shutout, to make Beijing citizens stay at home during the Olympics; strengthen controls over Chinese and foreign NGOs; and forbid any protests. Template:Ref
Template:Note 法制晚报 (Fazhi Wanbao, or Evening Paper of Legal System), April 10 2006, A05
Broadcasting
Beijing 2008 will be broadcast worldwide by a number of television broadcasters. Confirmed broadcasters include:
- CBC and Radio-Canada and its properties, along with TSN and RDS, in Canada.
- NBC Universal, with NBC and its cable properties, in the United States.
- BBC in the United Kingdom.
See also
External links
- Articles about the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing
- Official Website of the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Beijing Embraces 2008 Summer Olympics
- IOC press release announcing Equestrian events in Hong Kong
- Official website of the Free Tibet 2008 Olympics campaign
- Olympic Watch website
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