The Chinese capital, Beijing, is preparing to open the 2008 Olympic Games with a lavish ceremony. The event will involve about 10,000 performers, and will be watched on TV by an estimated four billion people. The lead-up to the Games has been overshadowed by issues such as China's human rights record, internet access, and air pollution in Beijing.
US President George W Bush expressed "deep concerns" over human rights before flying to Beijing. Mr Bush, who was in Thailand on the eve of the opening ceremony, voiced "firm opposition" to China's detention of dissidents - while stressing that he wanted the focus during the Games to be on sport. China rejected the US president's criticisms as "interference" in its internal affairs, and insisted it "put its people first". Meanwhile, 40 Olympian athletes wrote to President Hu Jintao expressing their concerns over Beijing's handling of anti-Chinese unrest in Tibet.
But after a succession of controversial issues in the build-up to the Games, the focus is now shifting to the opening ceremony. Having taken seven years of planning, and a record-breaking $40bn in costs, nothing has been left to chance in China's bid to show the world what it can do, our correspondent adds. An estimated global audience of four billion people will watch the opening ceremony. It will be staged at Beijing's national stadium - known as the Bird's Nest because of its steel latticed construction - and some 10,000 performers will take part.
Jacques Rogge, the head of the International Olympic Committee, who has repeatedly defended the decision to let China host the Olympics, said he hoped the Games would help the world to understand China, and China to understand the world. Mr Rogge also praised China's "extraordinary" efforts to cut pollution ahead of the Games, saying there was no danger to athletes' health. A day before the Games, a BBC reading suggested Beijing's air quality was far below World Health Organization (WHO) standards.
It put levels of particulate matter (PM10) at 191 micrograms per cubic metre. This exceeds the WHO target for developing countries of 150 micrograms/cubic metre. Mr Rogge said if the pollution was bad, events which lasted more than an hour could be shifted or postponed.There were celebrations on Thursday as the Olympic torch made its final stops on a journey that has seen it pass through six continents in six months.
Patriotic crowds lining a mist-shrouded Great Wall cheered as the torch - which has been a magnet for protesters critical of China's rights record on its six-continent tour - passed by. Human-rights group have condemned curbs on journalists covering the Games. In a statement issued on Friday, the New York-based group Human Rights Watch said: "As the 2008 Olympic Games open in Beijing, foreign journalists in China face a host of severe restrictions, ranging from harassment to a censored internet."
Showing posts with label beijing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beijing. Show all posts
Friday, 8 August 2008
Monday, 28 July 2008
26 innovations secure 'Green Olympics' achievement
BEIJING, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Beijing has applied a wide range ofgreen technologies and clean energy in building venues and facilities for the upcoming Olympic Games, according to a press briefing here on Sunday.
These advanced technologies, including water recycling, rainwater utilization, solar photovoltaic power generation, and reclaimed water source heat pumps, could help environmental protection while encouraging technology innovation, said Tan Xuxiang, deputy director of Beijing Municipal Planning Commission. Altogether 26 innovations were achieved during the Olympic preparation period, he added. To fulfill the bidding pledge of "Green Olympics," the Games' organizers used environment-friendly materials in building key venues such as the Olympic Green, the Olympic Village and the Olympic Forest Park, Tan said. A total of 31 competition venues and 45 training venues have been built for the impending Games. They are mainly located in five areas, namely the Olympic Green, the west community, the northern scenic spot area, the university area, and the east community.
Special attention was paid to the protection of cultural relics throughout the construction of all Olympic projects, Tan said, citing the protection and repair of ancient architecture in the Olympic Green zone, such as the Goddess Temple and the Dragon King Temple. Both the location of Olympic stadiums and the selection of competition routes have avoided important water resource conservation areas and natural reserves, he said. The official said that the concept of "Green Olympics" mainly has three implications -- a green environment, "green stadiums" with energy saving features, and the "green consciousness" for the public that endorses environmental protection and a healthy lifestyle. All efforts relating to the promotion of "Green Olympics" will leave a precious heritage for Beijing when the Games are over, he added.
These advanced technologies, including water recycling, rainwater utilization, solar photovoltaic power generation, and reclaimed water source heat pumps, could help environmental protection while encouraging technology innovation, said Tan Xuxiang, deputy director of Beijing Municipal Planning Commission. Altogether 26 innovations were achieved during the Olympic preparation period, he added. To fulfill the bidding pledge of "Green Olympics," the Games' organizers used environment-friendly materials in building key venues such as the Olympic Green, the Olympic Village and the Olympic Forest Park, Tan said. A total of 31 competition venues and 45 training venues have been built for the impending Games. They are mainly located in five areas, namely the Olympic Green, the west community, the northern scenic spot area, the university area, and the east community.
Special attention was paid to the protection of cultural relics throughout the construction of all Olympic projects, Tan said, citing the protection and repair of ancient architecture in the Olympic Green zone, such as the Goddess Temple and the Dragon King Temple. Both the location of Olympic stadiums and the selection of competition routes have avoided important water resource conservation areas and natural reserves, he said. The official said that the concept of "Green Olympics" mainly has three implications -- a green environment, "green stadiums" with energy saving features, and the "green consciousness" for the public that endorses environmental protection and a healthy lifestyle. All efforts relating to the promotion of "Green Olympics" will leave a precious heritage for Beijing when the Games are over, he added.
Sunday, 27 July 2008
Olympics tickets "Almost sold out"
BEIJING, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Athletes for the Beijing Olympic Games are likely to play to packed houses, as enthusiastic fans snapped up Olympic tickets in the final round of sale.
By Saturday evening, 16 of the 19 ticket booths, which started the fourth, or the final, phase of Olympic ticket sale to individuals on Friday, hung out signs "sold out".
Tickets for "hot sports" like tennis and archery were sold out within hours on Friday, said Wu Xiaonan, an official with a ticket booth near the Beijing Olympic Green Hockey Stadium. But, tickets for hockey, boxing and handball are still available, Wu said, adding most tickets for hockey are probably sold out by late Sunday. A female official surnamed Yu at a booth of the Olympic Sports Center said tickets for the handball match are expected to be sold out by Monday.
A total of 820,000 tickets, covering 28 sports events, were put on sale on Friday at 19 ticket booths around the city. By Friday noon, tickets for gymnastics, diving and football were sold out. The sales created long queues in the city. More than 30,000 people lined up overnight at a ticket booth near the Bird's Nest on Friday, forcing local police to take temporary measures to prevent chaos. All the Olympic tickets at the booth were sold out at 3 a.m. on Saturday. In all, 6.8 million Olympic tickets were available for domestic and foreign sales.
By Saturday evening, 16 of the 19 ticket booths, which started the fourth, or the final, phase of Olympic ticket sale to individuals on Friday, hung out signs "sold out".
Tickets for "hot sports" like tennis and archery were sold out within hours on Friday, said Wu Xiaonan, an official with a ticket booth near the Beijing Olympic Green Hockey Stadium. But, tickets for hockey, boxing and handball are still available, Wu said, adding most tickets for hockey are probably sold out by late Sunday. A female official surnamed Yu at a booth of the Olympic Sports Center said tickets for the handball match are expected to be sold out by Monday.
A total of 820,000 tickets, covering 28 sports events, were put on sale on Friday at 19 ticket booths around the city. By Friday noon, tickets for gymnastics, diving and football were sold out. The sales created long queues in the city. More than 30,000 people lined up overnight at a ticket booth near the Bird's Nest on Friday, forcing local police to take temporary measures to prevent chaos. All the Olympic tickets at the booth were sold out at 3 a.m. on Saturday. In all, 6.8 million Olympic tickets were available for domestic and foreign sales.
Sunday, 20 July 2008
Beijng's beautifiers complete work on city transformation
LONDON - The Guardian
On the other side of the world from Birmingham - where Britain's athletes are striving to book their places for the Olympics - Liu Xiaohua is making her own last-minute preparations for the showpiece event. Exactly four weeks before the first full day of competiton, the migrant worker from Henan province is sweeping a newly built underpass outside the Bird's Nest Olympic stadium free of construction-site grit, rubbish and the sand that blows in from the Gobi desert.
It may be one of the least glamorous and lowest paid roles in the Olympics (Liu's monthly salary is just over £100) but she is on the front-line of a massive beautification campaign, which will complete a seven-year facelift of the Chinese capital.
As sportsmen and women around the world make their final preparations, Beijing is in the throes of a final clean-up not just of streets and buildings, but "undesirable" social elements and potential troublemakers.
Liu is part of arguably the greatest transformation of a host city in the history of the Olympics. In the past five years, a construction boom has flattened swathes of the old city and surrounding countryside, replacing alleyways and farmland with the world's biggest airport terminal, a subway line, a light railway, hundreds of miles of roads as well as the spectacular stadium, gymnasium and swimming pool and other venues. Over the past few months, the focus has been on brightening up the new concrete and steel with flowers and paint. Formerly drab grey roadsides are now decked with begonias and shrubs. Since the start of the year, 40 million flowers have been planted, tens of thousands of trees re-rooted and countless acres of lawn laid on the naturally arid red earth.
In some areas, even old Cultural Revolution wall slogans, such as "Long Live Mao Zedong thought!" - which were previously out of favour - have been given a fresh lick of red paint. Olympic signposts have been erected around the city, Olympic rings have been painted on motorways lanes reserved for Olympic traffic and Fuwa Olympic Mascots are an increasingly uqibuitous sight on hoardings, in shops and on television.
Ahead of an expected arrival of 21,500 journalists, 10,500 athletes and half a million tourists, the city has replaced its notoriously smelly public toilets with modern, cleaner conveniences. To tidy the streets, it has increased the penalty on spitting, launched anti-litter campaigns and hired tens of thousands of migrant workers like Liu. But the clean-up will soon be extended to many of those doing the cleaning. On July 20, many of the city's migrant workers - who have done more than anyone to build and beautify the Olympic city - have been ordered to return to their home towns.
"We don't want to leave because we won't be able to earn money for two months, but we have no choice," complained Fang Jingshan, a construction worker from Hebei Province.
The closure of building sites and factories is aimed primarily at clearing the air of pollution. For much of the last two weeks, the city has been enveloped in a grey haze. Earlier this week the chairman of the International Olympic Committee's coordindation commission Hein Verbruggen described air quality as an "open issue".
To reduce emissions, cars with odd and even number plates will only be able to drive on alternative days starting from July 20. But the problem of pollution is so widespread in China that many Olympic teams are taking no risks by staging their final training camps in Japan.
For human rights groups, social cleansing is the main concern. While previous Olympic hosts have driven vagrants and other itinerants out before the Games, China has gone further by locking up several dissidents, putting others under house arrest, and forcing petitioners to return to their home towns.
According to the Legal Daily, 100,000 anti-terrorism personnel will be mobilised during the Games and 300,000 surveillance cameras installed. Some Beijing residents complain that the paranoia and emphasis on cosmetic appearances is stifling the gritty, chaotic, down-to-earth humour that is the city's greatest charm.
"It's all so fake," said Lily Chen, a restaurant manageress. "I just want the Olympics to be over with as quickly as possible so that life can go back to normal."
It is hard to argue that this face-obsessed nation has not employed excessive artifice in making a propaganda success of the Games. Many of the flowers, trees and lawns are a terrible waste of water in this dry city. And there is a real risk that the emphasis on security, visa checks for foreigners and controls on journalists could squeeze the fun out of the Games.
But it is not just a "Smile-or-else Olympics," there is a real sense of hope among ordinary people that the Games will mark a change in China and how it is viewed in the outside world. By the fence around the Bird's Nest stadium, throngs of tourists pose for photographs in front of the spectacular steel-lattice sports arena - now closed off until the opening on August 8.
On the other side of the road, an elderly couple watch from afar. The 84-year-old Hao Fukun says he cycled 40 minutes to get here, pulling his wife behind him on a cart. It is the first time they have travelled so far for many year, but they wanted to see the Olympic stadium.
"You simply cannot compare Beijing now with what it was," said the old man, who has lived through war, revolution, famine, political upheaval and modern development. "Life is so much better. I hope the world can see how our lives have changed. When the Olympics starts, I will be so happy, so happy."
The numbers Games:
10,500
The estimated number of athletes competing in Beijing between August 8 and 24
302
Different events featured in the summer Games - from the 28 designated sports
906
The gold, silver and bronze medals up for grabs
37
Separate Olympic venues
21,500
Journalists descending on China's capital from around the world
1.6m
Cars off the road on any given day during the Games as part of new anti-pollution measures
5,000
Different items of official Beijing merchandise available to buy
85,000
Miles the Olympic torch has travelled on its relay, the longest since the 1936 Berlin Games
7,000
Extra buses provided for transport during the two-week period
40m
Flowers planted in the city in the build-up to the Games
On the other side of the world from Birmingham - where Britain's athletes are striving to book their places for the Olympics - Liu Xiaohua is making her own last-minute preparations for the showpiece event. Exactly four weeks before the first full day of competiton, the migrant worker from Henan province is sweeping a newly built underpass outside the Bird's Nest Olympic stadium free of construction-site grit, rubbish and the sand that blows in from the Gobi desert.
It may be one of the least glamorous and lowest paid roles in the Olympics (Liu's monthly salary is just over £100) but she is on the front-line of a massive beautification campaign, which will complete a seven-year facelift of the Chinese capital.
As sportsmen and women around the world make their final preparations, Beijing is in the throes of a final clean-up not just of streets and buildings, but "undesirable" social elements and potential troublemakers.
Liu is part of arguably the greatest transformation of a host city in the history of the Olympics. In the past five years, a construction boom has flattened swathes of the old city and surrounding countryside, replacing alleyways and farmland with the world's biggest airport terminal, a subway line, a light railway, hundreds of miles of roads as well as the spectacular stadium, gymnasium and swimming pool and other venues. Over the past few months, the focus has been on brightening up the new concrete and steel with flowers and paint. Formerly drab grey roadsides are now decked with begonias and shrubs. Since the start of the year, 40 million flowers have been planted, tens of thousands of trees re-rooted and countless acres of lawn laid on the naturally arid red earth.
In some areas, even old Cultural Revolution wall slogans, such as "Long Live Mao Zedong thought!" - which were previously out of favour - have been given a fresh lick of red paint. Olympic signposts have been erected around the city, Olympic rings have been painted on motorways lanes reserved for Olympic traffic and Fuwa Olympic Mascots are an increasingly uqibuitous sight on hoardings, in shops and on television.
Ahead of an expected arrival of 21,500 journalists, 10,500 athletes and half a million tourists, the city has replaced its notoriously smelly public toilets with modern, cleaner conveniences. To tidy the streets, it has increased the penalty on spitting, launched anti-litter campaigns and hired tens of thousands of migrant workers like Liu. But the clean-up will soon be extended to many of those doing the cleaning. On July 20, many of the city's migrant workers - who have done more than anyone to build and beautify the Olympic city - have been ordered to return to their home towns.
"We don't want to leave because we won't be able to earn money for two months, but we have no choice," complained Fang Jingshan, a construction worker from Hebei Province.
The closure of building sites and factories is aimed primarily at clearing the air of pollution. For much of the last two weeks, the city has been enveloped in a grey haze. Earlier this week the chairman of the International Olympic Committee's coordindation commission Hein Verbruggen described air quality as an "open issue".
To reduce emissions, cars with odd and even number plates will only be able to drive on alternative days starting from July 20. But the problem of pollution is so widespread in China that many Olympic teams are taking no risks by staging their final training camps in Japan.
For human rights groups, social cleansing is the main concern. While previous Olympic hosts have driven vagrants and other itinerants out before the Games, China has gone further by locking up several dissidents, putting others under house arrest, and forcing petitioners to return to their home towns.
According to the Legal Daily, 100,000 anti-terrorism personnel will be mobilised during the Games and 300,000 surveillance cameras installed. Some Beijing residents complain that the paranoia and emphasis on cosmetic appearances is stifling the gritty, chaotic, down-to-earth humour that is the city's greatest charm.
"It's all so fake," said Lily Chen, a restaurant manageress. "I just want the Olympics to be over with as quickly as possible so that life can go back to normal."
It is hard to argue that this face-obsessed nation has not employed excessive artifice in making a propaganda success of the Games. Many of the flowers, trees and lawns are a terrible waste of water in this dry city. And there is a real risk that the emphasis on security, visa checks for foreigners and controls on journalists could squeeze the fun out of the Games.
But it is not just a "Smile-or-else Olympics," there is a real sense of hope among ordinary people that the Games will mark a change in China and how it is viewed in the outside world. By the fence around the Bird's Nest stadium, throngs of tourists pose for photographs in front of the spectacular steel-lattice sports arena - now closed off until the opening on August 8.
On the other side of the road, an elderly couple watch from afar. The 84-year-old Hao Fukun says he cycled 40 minutes to get here, pulling his wife behind him on a cart. It is the first time they have travelled so far for many year, but they wanted to see the Olympic stadium.
"You simply cannot compare Beijing now with what it was," said the old man, who has lived through war, revolution, famine, political upheaval and modern development. "Life is so much better. I hope the world can see how our lives have changed. When the Olympics starts, I will be so happy, so happy."
The numbers Games:
10,500
The estimated number of athletes competing in Beijing between August 8 and 24
302
Different events featured in the summer Games - from the 28 designated sports
906
The gold, silver and bronze medals up for grabs
37
Separate Olympic venues
21,500
Journalists descending on China's capital from around the world
1.6m
Cars off the road on any given day during the Games as part of new anti-pollution measures
5,000
Different items of official Beijing merchandise available to buy
85,000
Miles the Olympic torch has travelled on its relay, the longest since the 1936 Berlin Games
7,000
Extra buses provided for transport during the two-week period
40m
Flowers planted in the city in the build-up to the Games
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Beijing Olympic Games: Facts & Figures
BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Key facts and figures about the 2008 Olympic Games, which will start on Aug. 8:
THE GAMES
-- The Games of the XXIX Olympiad will take place from Aug. 8 to 24, 2008 under the slogan "One World, One Dream".
-- The Games will feature the 28 summer sports on the Olympic program; 10,708 athletes are expected to compete in 302 events (165 male events, 127 female, and 10 mixed) at 31 venues in Beijing and six venues in Qingdao, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao.
-- 21,600 accredited journalists from more than 200 countries and regions will come to China to cover the Games.
-- The opening and closing ceremonies of the Games will be held at the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium. The woven girder stadium, covering 20.4 hectares, can accommodate an audience of up to 91,000.
-- More than 80 heads of state or government have confirmed they will attend the opening ceremony, including U.S. President George W. Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
-- More than 400,000 Beijing volunteers will provide visitors with services, including information, translation and first aid at550 sites around the city from July 1 to Oct. 8.
-- A total of 74,615 volunteers will provide services at Games venues and media centers and at the Olympic Village, with the oldest aged 87. Another 7,600 venue volunteers were recruited in the venues outside Beijing. More than 1.12 million applied for theposts, of whom 22,000 were foreigners. In addition, 1 million "social volunteers" will help to keep traffic moving and maintain order in communities and townships.
-- Six million tickets for the Olympic Games had been sold by mid June, and organizers planned to put on sale the remaining 1 million tickets in late July at the Olympic venues.
-- The most expensive tickets are the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games at 5,000 yuan and 3,000 yuan respectively.
-- The Olympic torch relay, now progressing on Chinese soil, is the longest ever, lasting 130 days and covering 137,000 kilometers worldwide. The flame was carried to the top of the Qomolangma (Mount Everest) for the first time and will arrive in Beijing on Aug. 6, according to the BOCOG.
THE CITY
-- Beijing is expecting more than 500,000 overseas visitors for the Games. The city has 660,000 visitor beds, and has chosen 598 homeowners as Olympic hosts. These homes can offer 726 rooms for more than 1,000 guests.
-- Beijing had 115 "blue sky" days, or days with fairly good air quality, for the year to June 18. With government investment of 140 billion yuan in environment improvement, total "blue sky" days rose to 246 last year from 100 in 1998, when the city launched the "blue sky" campaign.
-- Beijing took 300,000 high-emission cars off its roads in early July.From July 20 private cars will be banned on alternate days according to odd/even number plates, as part of measures to improve air quality and ease traffic on the clogged highways.
-- Statistical analysis of Beijing weather records from 1951 to2007 indicates a high possibility of warm and humid weather in midAugust, with about one rainfall every three days.
THE VENUES
- New Venues in Beijing:
-- National Aquatics Center (Water Cube):
Location: Olympic Green (Chaoyang District)
Events: Swimming, diving, synchronized swimming
-- National Stadium:
Location: Olympic Green
Events: Opening and closing ceremonies, track and field, football
-- National Indoor Stadium
Location: Olympic Green
Events: Artistic gymnastics, trampoline, handball
-- Beijing Shooting Range Hall
Location: Shijingshan District
Events: shooting
-- Beijing Olympic Basketball Stadium
Location: Wanshou Rd., Haidian District
Events: basketball
-- Laoshan Velodrome
Location: Laoshan, Shijingshan District
Events: cycling
-- Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park
Location: Shunyi District
Events: rowing, canoe/kayak -- flat-water
-- China Agriculture University Gymnasium
Location: Yuanmingyuanxilu Rd., Haidian District
Events: wrestling
-- Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium
Location: Shuanglong Rd., Chaoyang District
Events: badminton, rhythmic gymnastics
-- Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium
Location: Beisihuanlu Rd., Haidian District
Events: judo, taekwondo
-- Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Court
Location: Olympic Green
Events: tennis
-- Peking University Gymnasium
Location: Yiheyuanlu Rd., Haidian District
Events: table tennis
-Temporary Venues in Beijing
-- Beijing Olympic Green Hockey Stadium
Location: Olympic Green
Events: hockey
-- Fencing Hall of National Convention Center
Location: Olympic Green
Events: fencing preliminaries and finals, modern pentathlon (fencing and shooting)
-- Beijing Olympic Green Archery Field
Location: Olympic Green
Events: archery
-- Beijing Wukesong Sports Center Baseball Field
Location: Wanshou Rd., Haidian District
Events: baseball
-- Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground
Location: Chaoyang District
Events: beach volleyball
-- Triathlon Venue
Location: Changping District
Events: Triathlon
-- Laoshan Bicycle Moto Cross (BMX) Venue
Location: Laoshan, Shijingshan District
Events: cycling (BMX)
-- Road Cycling Course
Location: To be determined
Events: cycling (road race)
Existing Venues in Beijing
-- Olympic Sports Center Stadium
Location: Anding Road, Chaoyang District
Events: modern pentathlon
-- Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium
Location: Asia Games Village, Chaoyang District
Events: handball
-- Beijing's Workers' Stadium
Location: Gongti Road., Chaoyang District
Events: football
-- Beijing's Workers' Gymnasium
Location: Gongti Road., Chaoyang District
Events: boxing
-- Yingdong Natatorium of National Olympics Sport Center
Location: Asia Games Village, Chaoyang District
Events: water polo, modern pentathlon
-- Capital Indoor Stadium
Location: Baishi Bridge, Haidian District
Events: volleyball
-- Laoshan Mountain Bike Course
Location: Laoshan, Shijingshan District
Events: mountain bike
-- Beijing Shooting Range CTF
Location: Xiangshannanlu Road, Shijingshan District
Events: shooting
-- Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium
Location: Zizhuyuan, Haidian District
Events: volleyball
-- Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Gymnasium
Location: Xueyuan Rd., Haidian District
Events: weightlifting
-- Fengtai Sports Center Softball Field
Location: Xisihuannanlu Rd., Fengtai District
Events: softball
Venues outside Beijing
-- Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Venue
Location: 25 Yuen Wo Road, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
Events: equestrian
-- Shanghai Stadium
Location: Tianyaoqiao Rd., Shanghai
Events: soccer
-- Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center
Location: Fushan Bay, Qingdao, Shandong Province
Events: sailing
-- Qinghuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium
Location: Hebai St., Haigang District, Qinghuangdao, Hebei Province
Events: football
-- Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium
Location: Linshuidao Rd., Tianjin
Events: football
-- Shenyang Olympic Stadium
Location: Hunnanzhonglu Rd., Shenyang, Liaoning Province
Events: football preliminary
THE GAMES
-- The Games of the XXIX Olympiad will take place from Aug. 8 to 24, 2008 under the slogan "One World, One Dream".
-- The Games will feature the 28 summer sports on the Olympic program; 10,708 athletes are expected to compete in 302 events (165 male events, 127 female, and 10 mixed) at 31 venues in Beijing and six venues in Qingdao, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao.
-- 21,600 accredited journalists from more than 200 countries and regions will come to China to cover the Games.
-- The opening and closing ceremonies of the Games will be held at the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium. The woven girder stadium, covering 20.4 hectares, can accommodate an audience of up to 91,000.
-- More than 80 heads of state or government have confirmed they will attend the opening ceremony, including U.S. President George W. Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
-- More than 400,000 Beijing volunteers will provide visitors with services, including information, translation and first aid at550 sites around the city from July 1 to Oct. 8.
-- A total of 74,615 volunteers will provide services at Games venues and media centers and at the Olympic Village, with the oldest aged 87. Another 7,600 venue volunteers were recruited in the venues outside Beijing. More than 1.12 million applied for theposts, of whom 22,000 were foreigners. In addition, 1 million "social volunteers" will help to keep traffic moving and maintain order in communities and townships.
-- Six million tickets for the Olympic Games had been sold by mid June, and organizers planned to put on sale the remaining 1 million tickets in late July at the Olympic venues.
-- The most expensive tickets are the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games at 5,000 yuan and 3,000 yuan respectively.
-- The Olympic torch relay, now progressing on Chinese soil, is the longest ever, lasting 130 days and covering 137,000 kilometers worldwide. The flame was carried to the top of the Qomolangma (Mount Everest) for the first time and will arrive in Beijing on Aug. 6, according to the BOCOG.
THE CITY
-- Beijing is expecting more than 500,000 overseas visitors for the Games. The city has 660,000 visitor beds, and has chosen 598 homeowners as Olympic hosts. These homes can offer 726 rooms for more than 1,000 guests.
-- Beijing had 115 "blue sky" days, or days with fairly good air quality, for the year to June 18. With government investment of 140 billion yuan in environment improvement, total "blue sky" days rose to 246 last year from 100 in 1998, when the city launched the "blue sky" campaign.
-- Beijing took 300,000 high-emission cars off its roads in early July.From July 20 private cars will be banned on alternate days according to odd/even number plates, as part of measures to improve air quality and ease traffic on the clogged highways.
-- Statistical analysis of Beijing weather records from 1951 to2007 indicates a high possibility of warm and humid weather in midAugust, with about one rainfall every three days.
THE VENUES
- New Venues in Beijing:
-- National Aquatics Center (Water Cube):
Location: Olympic Green (Chaoyang District)
Events: Swimming, diving, synchronized swimming
-- National Stadium:
Location: Olympic Green
Events: Opening and closing ceremonies, track and field, football
-- National Indoor Stadium
Location: Olympic Green
Events: Artistic gymnastics, trampoline, handball
-- Beijing Shooting Range Hall
Location: Shijingshan District
Events: shooting
-- Beijing Olympic Basketball Stadium
Location: Wanshou Rd., Haidian District
Events: basketball
-- Laoshan Velodrome
Location: Laoshan, Shijingshan District
Events: cycling
-- Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park
Location: Shunyi District
Events: rowing, canoe/kayak -- flat-water
-- China Agriculture University Gymnasium
Location: Yuanmingyuanxilu Rd., Haidian District
Events: wrestling
-- Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium
Location: Shuanglong Rd., Chaoyang District
Events: badminton, rhythmic gymnastics
-- Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium
Location: Beisihuanlu Rd., Haidian District
Events: judo, taekwondo
-- Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Court
Location: Olympic Green
Events: tennis
-- Peking University Gymnasium
Location: Yiheyuanlu Rd., Haidian District
Events: table tennis
-Temporary Venues in Beijing
-- Beijing Olympic Green Hockey Stadium
Location: Olympic Green
Events: hockey
-- Fencing Hall of National Convention Center
Location: Olympic Green
Events: fencing preliminaries and finals, modern pentathlon (fencing and shooting)
-- Beijing Olympic Green Archery Field
Location: Olympic Green
Events: archery
-- Beijing Wukesong Sports Center Baseball Field
Location: Wanshou Rd., Haidian District
Events: baseball
-- Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground
Location: Chaoyang District
Events: beach volleyball
-- Triathlon Venue
Location: Changping District
Events: Triathlon
-- Laoshan Bicycle Moto Cross (BMX) Venue
Location: Laoshan, Shijingshan District
Events: cycling (BMX)
-- Road Cycling Course
Location: To be determined
Events: cycling (road race)
Existing Venues in Beijing
-- Olympic Sports Center Stadium
Location: Anding Road, Chaoyang District
Events: modern pentathlon
-- Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium
Location: Asia Games Village, Chaoyang District
Events: handball
-- Beijing's Workers' Stadium
Location: Gongti Road., Chaoyang District
Events: football
-- Beijing's Workers' Gymnasium
Location: Gongti Road., Chaoyang District
Events: boxing
-- Yingdong Natatorium of National Olympics Sport Center
Location: Asia Games Village, Chaoyang District
Events: water polo, modern pentathlon
-- Capital Indoor Stadium
Location: Baishi Bridge, Haidian District
Events: volleyball
-- Laoshan Mountain Bike Course
Location: Laoshan, Shijingshan District
Events: mountain bike
-- Beijing Shooting Range CTF
Location: Xiangshannanlu Road, Shijingshan District
Events: shooting
-- Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium
Location: Zizhuyuan, Haidian District
Events: volleyball
-- Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Gymnasium
Location: Xueyuan Rd., Haidian District
Events: weightlifting
-- Fengtai Sports Center Softball Field
Location: Xisihuannanlu Rd., Fengtai District
Events: softball
Venues outside Beijing
-- Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Venue
Location: 25 Yuen Wo Road, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
Events: equestrian
-- Shanghai Stadium
Location: Tianyaoqiao Rd., Shanghai
Events: soccer
-- Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center
Location: Fushan Bay, Qingdao, Shandong Province
Events: sailing
-- Qinghuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium
Location: Hebai St., Haigang District, Qinghuangdao, Hebei Province
Events: football
-- Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium
Location: Linshuidao Rd., Tianjin
Events: football
-- Shenyang Olympic Stadium
Location: Hunnanzhonglu Rd., Shenyang, Liaoning Province
Events: football preliminary
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