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Revision as of 15:37, 6 April 2008 by 65.29.169.15 (talk) (→Torch relay)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The 2008 Summer Olympics (simplified Chinese: 二零零八年北京夏季奥林匹克运动会; traditional Chinese: 二零零八年北京夏季奧林匹克運動會; pinyin: èr líng líng bā nián běi jīng xià jì ào lín pǐ kè yùn dòng huì), officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, will be celebrated from August 8, 2008, to August 24, 2008, with the opening ceremony commencing at 08:08:08 pm CST (12:08:08 UTC) at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Some events will be held outside Beijing, namely football (soccer) (in Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shenyang and Tianjin), equestrian (in Hong Kong) and sailing (in Qingdao).
The Olympic games were awarded to Beijing, People's Republic of China after an exhaustive ballot of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on July 13, 2001. The official logo of the games, titled "Dancing Beijing," features a stylized calligraphic character jīng (京, meaning capital), referencing the host city. The mascots of Beijing 2008 are the five Fuwa, each representing one color of the Olympic rings. The Olympic slogan, One World, One Dream, calls upon the world to unite in the Olympic spirit. Athletes will compete in 302 events in 28 sports, just one event more than was on the schedule of the Athens games of 2004. Several new National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have also been recognized by the IOC.
The Chinese government has promoted the games to highlight China's emergence on the world stage, amidst concerns about environmental issues and the alleged human rights violations, particularly in Tibet. There have also been growing concerns of major nations boycotting the Olympics in protest of China's actions in Tibet. Earlier in 2007, former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch has said that he believes that the Beijing games will be "the best in Olympic history."
Host selection process
Beijing was elected the host city on July 13, 2001, during the 112th IOC Session in Moscow, beating Toronto, Paris, Istanbul, and Osaka. Prior to the session, five other cities—Bangkok, Cairo, Havana, Kuala Lumpur, and Seville—submitted bids to the IOC but failed to make the shortlist in 2000. The voting distributions were as follows.
| 2008 Summer Olympics bidding results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| City | NOC | Round 1 | Round 2 |
| Beijing |  China |
44 | 56 |
| Toronto |  Canada |
20 | 22 |
| Paris |  France |
15 | 18 |
| Istanbul |  Turkey |
17 | 9 |
| Osaka |  Japan |
6 | — |
Whereas the "political structures" of the non-Chinese bids were clearly described, the IOC evaluation commission made an exception for Beijing and just quoted Beijing's position: «The political system is classed as "working for China"». The evaluation commission also declared: "The overall presence of strong governmental control and support is healthy."
After the first round of voting, Beijing held a significant lead over the other four candidates. Osaka received only six votes and was eliminated. In the second round, Beijing was supported by an absolute majority of voters, eliminating the need for subsequent rounds.
After winning the bid, the vice premier of the PRC Li Lanqing declared (2001, August 17th): "The winning of the 2008 Olympic bid is an example of the the international recognition of China's social stability, economic progress and the healthy life of the Chinese people." Previously, Beijing had bid to host the 2000 Summer Olympics. It led the voting over the first three rounds, but ultimately lost to Sydney in the final round in 1993.
Development and preparation
Venues
Main articles: 2008 Summer Olympic venues and Olympic ParkBy May 2007, construction of all thirty-one Beijing-based Olympic Games venues had begun. The Chinese government is also investing in the renovation and construction of six venues outside Beijing as well as fifty-nine training centers. Its largest architectural pieces will be the Beijing National Stadium, Beijing National Indoor Stadium, Beijing National Aquatics Centre, Olympic Green Convention Centre, Olympic Green, and Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center. Almost 85 percent of the construction budget for the six main venues is being funded by US$2.1 billion (RMB¥17.4 billion) in corporate bids and tenders. 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 and events.
It was announced on July 8, 2005 that the equestrian events are to be held in Hong Kong because of the "uncertainties of equine diseases and major difficulties in establishing a disease-free zone." The five venues outside Beijing will be located in Qingdao, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Qinhuangdao.
Beijing National Stadium
The centerpiece of the 2008 Summer Olympics will be the Beijing National Stadium, nicknamed the "Bird nest" because of its nest-like skeletal structure. Construction of the venue began on December 24, 2003. The Guangdong Olympic Stadium was originally planned, constructed, and completed in 2001 for the Games, but a decision was made to construct a new stadium in Beijing. 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 a lattice-like concrete skeleton forming the stadium bowl and will have a seating capacity of 80,000 people. Architects originally described the overall design as resembling a Bird nest with an immense ocular—an opening with a retractable roof over the stadium. However, in 2004, the idea of retractable roof was abandoned for economic and safety reasons. The Beijing National Stadium will be the site of the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the athletics events and soccer finals. The stadium's designer Ai Weiwei has since withdrawn his support for China's Olympic games, saying "he wants nothing to do with them anymore".
Public transport
Further information: Beijing Subway
Anticipating a huge rush during the games, Beijing's subway system is currently undergoing a major expansion which will increase its capacity to more than twice its existing size. The system currently is composed of four lines and 64 stations. An additional seven lines and more than eighty new stations are being constructed, including a direct link to Beijing Capital International Airport. In the airport itself, eleven unmanned trains, each transporting a maximum of 83 passengers, will expedite the movement of people throughout the new terminal building. Most of them are scheduled to operate from June 30, 2008, one month before the beginning of the games. In January 2007, the BOCOG announced that the Metro cars will be fitted with video screens showing the latest news and events during the games. Additionally, cellphone signals would be made available, so that people can use their communication devices in the metro stations or underground.
According to the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, a new five-level emergency alert system for extreme weather and security threats will be implemented in the airport. This system is designed to ensure smooth and safe transportation for the estimated three million domestic and overseas visitors who will flock to Beijing for the games in August 2008.
On the ground, Beijing is set to designate thirty-eight official public transit routes that will link the Olympic venues. During the games, 2,500 large-size buses and 4,500 minibuses will be operated by a total of 8,000 drivers to transport people across various venues. Prior to the games, public transport will be optimized in order to reduce the existing 110 overlapping routes.
Smoking is banned in the 66,000 cabs, the violation of which would lead to a fine of 100 to 200 yuan (13 to 26 USD). Beijing authorities are thus trying to make the event a non-smoking event.
Marketing
Emblem
The 2008 Summer Olympics emblem entitled "Dancing Beijing" (Chinese:舞动的北京) was unveiled in August 2003 in a ceremony attended by 2,008 people at Qi'niandian (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. The open arms of the calligraphic word symbolizes the invitation of China to the world to share in its culture. IOC president Jacques Rogge was very happy with the emblem, saying, "Your new emblem immediately conveys the awesome beauty and power of China which are embodied in your heritage and your people."
Mascots
Main article: FuwaThe Fuwa (Chinese: 福娃; pinyin: Fúwá; literally "good-luck dolls") 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 1000 day before the opening of the games. They were originally named "The Friendlies", but this name was dropped as Chinese officials were worried that it would be misunderstood as "friendless" or "friend lies."
The Fuwa consist of five members that incorporate fish, giant panda, fire, Tibetan antelope, and swallow designs. They roughly correspond with the five elements of Chinese philosophy: water, metal, fire, wood, and earth. The Fuwa each have as their primary color one of the colors of the five Olympic Rings that stand for the five continents. The five Fuwa are named Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini. When the first syllable of each of the five names are said together, the result is the phrase 北京欢迎你 (Běijīng huānyíng nĭ) which means "Beijing welcomes you".
Tickets
The Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee began publicizing in early August 2006 that it will sell over 7 million tickets for various sporting events and ceremonies to the general public. The chief of the committee expressed her hopes that all Chinese people would have a chance to come to the games. The committee has, therefore, set low ticket prices so as to encourage the Chinese people to become more involved in the Olympics.
On April 14 2007, tickets to the general public went on sale through the Beijing Organizing Committee for domestic tickets (which will account for 75% of the sales) and through each nation's NOC for overseas ticket sales. By June 2007, 2.2 million tickets—about a third of the supply volume—had already been sold.
Slogan
On June 26, 2005, The Beijing Olympic Committee announced that the slogan for the 2008 Olympics will be "One World, One Dream" (simplified Chinese: 同一个世界 同一个梦想; traditional Chinese: 同一個世界 同一個夢想; pinyin: Tóng Yíge Shìjiè Tóng Yíge Mèngxiǎng.) The slogan calls upon the whole world to join in the Olympic spirit and build a better future for humanity. It was chosen from over 210,000 entries submitted from around the world.
Merchandising
Since early 2007, licensed Olympics merchandise stores have been in business throughout China. More than 800 official stores were in operation at the end of July 2007. Since August 2007, Olympic merchandise has been made available online, with more than 5000 products available via the official merchandising website, which include apparel, mascot dolls, key-chains and commemorative chopsticks. In November 2007, overseas Olympic E-shop provide online access to customers all over the world to Licensed Products of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. (Excluding the USA, Japan, UK, Canada and China)
Music
The official song for the game's countdown celebration was entitled "We Are Ready" with a version recorded by Hong Kong's Jackie Chan. 106 contestants of Miss World 2007 performed the English version of the torch relay song "Light the Passion Share the Dream", composed by Chris Babida About ten Olympic-themed music videos were recorded, including "Every One is Number One" by Hong Kong's Andy Lau, "Hero" by You Hongming from China featuring the story of athelete John Stephen Akhwari from Tanzania, "Dream in Sight" by Zhou Bichang from China, "Forever Friends" by American Coco Lee and Sun Nan, "You, me, and him -- happily we participate" by Super Girls and Happy Boys, and "Together on the Blue Planet" by Nicholas Tse and Joey Yung from Hong Kong.
It was announced that Canada's Celine Dion and Taiwan's Jay Chow would perform during the opening ceremony. Seperately, "Bravo Beijing" (喝彩北京) was recorded as a single by Taiwanese boy-band 5566 with an Olympic theme.
Sports
The programme for the Beijing 2008 Games is quite similar to that of the Athens Games held in 2004. The 2008 Olympics will see the return of 28 sports, and will hold 302 events (165 men’s events, 127 women’s events, and 10 mixed events), one event more in total than in Athens.
Overall nine new events will be held, which include two from the new cycling discipline of BMX. Women will compete in the 3000m steeplechase for the first time. In addition, marathon swimming events for men and women, over the distance of 10 kilometers, will be added to the swimming discipline. Team events (men and women) in table tennis will replace the doubles events. In fencing, women's team foil and women's team sabre will replace men's team foil and women's team epee.
In mid-2006, video gamers held talks with the Chinese government in hopes of allowing video games to be a demonstration sport at the games. Demonstration events have not been held at any Olympic Games (Summer or Winter) since 1992.
On August 7, 2006, a day before the 2-year countdown to the Beijing Games, the Beijing Organizing Committee released pictograms of the 35 Olympic disciplines. Each pictogram is designed so that people of nations around the world can recognize the different sports being played at the Olympic Games. This set of sport icons is named the beauty of seal characters, due to each pictogram's likeness to Chinese seal script.
The following are the sports to be contested at the games. The Olympic sport of aquatics has been split into its constituent disciplines of diving, swimming, synchronized swimming, and water polo. The number of events to be contested in each sport is indicated in parentheses.
Torch relay
The plans accepted by the IOC for the Olympic torch relay were announced on April 26, 2007, in Beijing. The relay, with the theme "Journey of Harmony", will last 130 days, carrying the torch 137,000 km (85,100 mi.) – the longest distance of any Olympic torch relay (though most of it is by air). The relay will begin on March 24, 2008, in Olympia, Greece. From there, it will travel across Greece to Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, and then to Beijing, arriving on March 31. From Beijing, the torch will follow a route passing through every continent except Antarctica. The torch will visit cities on the Silk Road, symbolizing ancient links between China and the rest of the world. A total of 21,880 torchbearers will be selected from around the world by various organizations and entities.
The BOCOG also plans to carry the flame to the top of Mount Everest. In June 2007, construction began on a 108 km (67 mi) long "highway" scaling the Tibetan side of the mountain. The $19.7 million blacktop project will span from Tingri County of Xigazê Prefecture to the Everest Base Camp. Environmental concerns about the effects of the road on the fragile Himalayan region have been expressed by the media, but denied by the Chinese government. In March 2008, China banned mountaineers from climbing its side of Mount Everest and later persuaded the Nepalese government to close their side as well, officially citing environmental concerns. It also reflected concerns by the communist government that Tibet activists may try to disrupt its plans to carry the Olympic torch up the world's tallest peak.
The original scheduled route agreed in April included a stop in Taipei just before heading for Hong Kong. Taiwan's government, however, later rejected this proposal, claiming that such arrangement would make the Taiwan relay be seen as part of China's domestic route, rather than the international route. Recent negotiations have led the IOC to officially take Taipei off the torch relay. Both China and Taiwan have blamed each other for injecting politics into the event.
The Olympic Torch is based on traditional scrolls and uses a traditional Chinese design known as the "Propitious Clouds" (祥云). The torch is designed to remain lit in 65 kilometer per hour winds, and in rain of up to 50 millimeters per hour.
On March 24, 2008, the Olympic Flame was ignited at Olympia, Greece, site of the Ancient Olympics. The High Priestess, Maria Nafpliotou, ignited the torch of the first torchbearer, a silver medalist of the 2004 Summer Olympics in taekwondo Alexandros Nikolaidis from Greece, who handed the flame over to the second torchbearer, Olympic champion in women's breaststroke Luo Xuejuan from China. The Olympic torch has been re-lit at an elaborate ceremony, on March 31 2008, in Beijing that included President Hu Jintao, signaling the start of a round-the-world torch relay. It allowed the government a brief respite before the relay sets off on a problematic, month-long world tour. The grandiose relay is the longest in Olympic history and has the most torchbearers -- a sign of the vast attention lavished on the Games by Beijing, which hopes to use it to showcase China's rising economic and political power.
Participating NOCs
Though the qualifying competitions for various sports are well underway, it cannot be certain which of the current 205 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) will participate in 2008. Most NOCs participate regularly, although various circumstances could cause a nation to be absent from the games, as was the case for six NOCs at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Nevertheless, placements in various qualifying races can help predict which nations and how many athletes will be at the games. Steven Roush, chief of sport performance for the United States Olympic Committee, expects that the United States will bring about 600 competitors to the games, their largest Olympic team thus far.
Participation changes
The Marshall Islands gained NOC status in February 2006, and is expected to participate in the Games. Representatives from Tuvalu also met with IOC president Jacques Rogge in 2005, who indicated that the country was likely to be voted a full-fledged Olympic member at the 119th IOC session in 2007. At that meeting, the Tuvalu Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee was accepted as a new National Olympic Committee.
In May 2006 (just after the 2006 Winter Olympics), the citizens of Montenegro voted in a referendum that severed its political union with Serbia. The states of Serbia and Montenegro, which participated at the 2004 Games jointly as Serbia and Montenegro, will now compete separately. The Montenegrin Olympic Committee was accepted as a new National Olympic Committee at the 119th IOC session along with Tuvalu.
A dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles was to have taken place in July 2007, giving Curaçao and Sint Maarten—like Aruba—a status aparte. This status would have permitted the islands to create their own NOCs, allowing them to compete separately at the games. However, the dissolution was postponed until December 2008, four months after the scheduled 2008 Olympics, forcing any newly formed NOCs to wait until the 2012 Olympics to participate in the Summer Games.
On February 17, 2008, the IOC also promised to recognize the Republic of Kosovo as a new independent nation. However, it is not probable that athletes from the newly formed republic will be able to qualify for the Olympics in time to send a delegation to Beijing. Their participation is additionally compromised by the fact that the new nation has yet to be recognized by many other international athletic federations.
North Korea and South Korea have considered sending a united team to the 2008 Olympics. In the past, the two nations have walked together in the parade of nations during the opening ceremonies, but have never competed as one team. The two NOCs met with IOC president Jacques Rogge on September 5, 2006, to discuss the possibility of creating such a combined team. In early 2007, Korean Olympic Committee President Kim Jung-Kil and North Korean Olympic Committee President Mun Jae-duk met to further discuss the logistics of sending a unified team. At the meeting, South Korea advocated for the selection of athletes based on performance, while North Korea hoped for equal representation of athletes if the two indeed sent a joint team. The NOCs failed to reach an agreement on representation, but said they would have further discussions in the future.
Broadcasting
| International broadcasters | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nation | Broadcaster | Cite |
 Australia |
Seven Network | |
 Brazil |
Globo | |
 Bulgaria |
BNT | |
| Canada |
CBC, Radio-Canada, TSN, RDS | |
 Chile |
TVN | |
| China |
CCTV-1, CCTV-5 | |
 Eritrea |
Eri-TV | |
 European Union |
Eurosport | |
 Finland |
YLE | |
| France |
France 2 | |
 Germany |
ARD, ZDF | |
 Greece |
ERT | |
 Hong Kong |
ATV, TVB | |
 Hungary |
Magyar Televízió | |
 Iran |
IRIB Channel 3 | |
 Ireland |
RTÉ | |
 Italy |
RAI (Rai Due) | |
| Japan |
NHK, others | |
 Latvia |
LTV7 | |
 Mexico |
Televisa | |
 Malaysia |
Astro, RTM | |
 Netherlands |
NPO/NOS | |
 New Zealand |
TV ONE | |
 Peru |
ATV | |
 Romania |
TVR | |
 Russia |
VGTRK, Channel One | |
 Serbia |
RTS | |
 Singapore |
StarHub CableTV, MediaCorp TV | |
 Slovakia |
STV | |
 South Korea |
KBS | |
 Spain |
TVE | |
 United Kingdom |
BBC | |
 United States |
NBC | |
 Venezuela |
Venevision, Meridiano TV, TVES | |
In their bid for the Olympic games in 2001, Beijing confirmed to the olympic evaluation commission "that there will be no restrictions on media reporting and movement of journalists up to and including the Olympic Games."
These games will be the first to be produced and broadcast entirely in high definition television, and will likely garner upwards of four billion viewers. In Canada the public network CBC/Radio-Canada and cable networks TSN and RDS will broadcast its final games before a private consortium involving CTV/Rogers/TQS takes over for the 2010 Winter Olympics, which will be happening within Canadian borders, in Vancouver. In Brazil the Games will be broadcasted by TV Globo, Rede Bandeirantes (free-to-air) and Sportv, ESPN Brasil and BandSports (cable-tv networks).
Issues
Likely competitors in the Games, especially swimmers, have voiced dissatisfaction with the IOC's decision to schedule some events to meet the requests of NBC, which paid US$5.7 billion for exclusive United States broadcasting rights to the Summer and Winter Games from 2000 through 2012. NBC requested that popular events, such as swimming, athletics, basketball, and gymnastics, be broadcast live during television primetime in the United States between 8:00 and 11:00 p.m. EDT (between 00:00 and 03:00 UTC) for maximum advertising revenue. This would require events to be held in the early morning between 8:00 and 11:00 a.m., Beijing time. The IOC granted the request for swimming and gymnastics but denied it for athletics and basketball. The IOC has precedent for its decision: at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, some swimming, gymnastics, and athletics finals were held in the morning. Also, at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, gymnastics finals were held in the afternoon which allowed most of Europe to view gymnastics during their primetime.
Concerns and controversy
Concerns over the games include the potential for boycotts from pro-Tibetan organizations such as Students for a Free Tibet as well as from organizations such as Amnesty International upset with China's involvement in the crisis in Darfur. China has also been battling problems with air pollution both in the city of Beijing and in neighboring areas, which the Beijing Organizing Committee (BOCOG) says it hopes to remedy before the games.
Olympic lawmaking
The Beijing municipal authority has declared that more than 70 local laws and decrees would be made before the 2008 Summer Olympics which would banish local people who don't have hukou (residency permits) of Beijing. It would also banish vagrants, beggars, and people with mental illness from the city. The municipal authority also made it clear that it would strengthen border control, call for a "special holiday", or forcible shutout, to make Beijing citizens stay at home during the Olympics. It also seeks to strengthen controls over Chinese and foreign NGOs and forbid any protests during the games. The government has also strengthened its laws relating to prosecution of those deemed to be disseminating material not beneficial to the state.
The Geneva-based group, Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions has claimed that 1.5 million Beijing residents will be displaced from their homes for the Olympics event. Beijing's Olympic organizing committee and China's Foreign Ministry have put the number at 6,037. Some sources say that as of May 2005, 300,000 residents have been evicted in preparation for the games and that police in Beijing placed many people under arrest for protesting against the evictions. While other sources can be found to say that nearly 15,000 people have been relocated.
The Beijing government has issued new mandates that require police officers in the city to act more appropriately. The government has circulated pamphlets urging officers to desist from using foul language, lose their arrogance, and not hang up on people who call to report crimes. They have been told that violators will be reprimanded. By doing this, Beijing hopes to clean up its image in time for the games.
A drive has also been launched to improve the poor English translations common on Chinese signage and labeling in readiness for the Olympics.
Protests and potential boycotts
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- See Also: 2008 Tibetan unrest
Boycotts and protests have occurred at past Olympic Games by groups of protesters, activists, and political groups who have had grievances against the host countries or another participating nations. In some cases, these activities have been sanctioned by member states, such as in the 1976, 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympics.
While no state has indicated a willingness to boycott the 2008 games, some groups are initiating independent campaigns to do so and other notable groups have called for protests. It has been reported that Chinese intelligence services were monitoring the activities of foreigners suspected of plotting demonstrations during the Olympics. In addition to monitoring NGOs that are concerned with domestic Chinese issues, the Chinese intelligence is also monitoring possible terrorism-related activities and anti-American demonstrations.
Pro-Tibetan independence groups, such as Students for a Free Tibet, have initiated a campaign to protest the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. The group plans to protest for Tibetan independence and objects to the Chinese government's use of the Tibetan antelope (chiru) as one of its five mascots. The Tibetan People's Movement has also demanded representation of Tibet with its own national flag. Hollywood actor Richard Gere in his position as the chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet called for the boycott of the games to put pressure on China to make Tibet independent. There has also been plans by Tibetans to organise their own version of the Olympics in May at the headquarters of Tibetan government-in-exile, because Tibet doesn't get representation.
The press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders has advocated a boycott expressing concerns over violations of free speech and human rights in China. It hopes that international pressure and petition can effect the release of prisoners of conscience, and hold China to promises made to the IOC, regarding improvements in human rights. Reporters Without Borders journalists interrupted the speech of China organizing committee chief during the Olympic torch lighting ceremony in Greece March 24 2008.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). Three of them breached a cordon of 1,000 police at the ancient Olympia stadium and ran behind Liu Qi, head of the Beijing Games committee, as he made a speech. One protestor tried to snatch the microphone as another unrolled a black flag showing the Olympic rings as handcuffs. The trio, from a French human rights group, were dragged away by police. Nearly 50 Tibetan exiles in India began a global torch relay March 25 2008 with a symbolic "Olympic" flame that will end in Tibet on August 8 2008, the day of the Summer Games' opening ceremonies in Beijing.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).
Activists working to address the ongoing violence in Darfur, Sudan, have called for pressure to be exerted on China because of their financial and diplomatic support for Omar al-Bashir, who is responsible for the Sudanese government's proxy militias. These advocates, which include actress Mia Farrow, NBA athlete Ira Newble, and Sudan researcher Eric Reeves, have organized a global advocacy campaign called Olympic Dream for Darfur. Some have begun to refer to the Beijing Olympics as the "Genocide Olympics" as noted in The China Post as a way of connecting Beijing's close political and economic ties to the Sudanese regime. The Chinese government, in turn, has criticised the activists for "politicising" the Olympics and outlined its plans to help the Sudanese economy.
Calls for sustained pressure and possible boycotts of the Olympics have come from former French presidential candidate François Bayrou, actor and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow, Genocide Intervention Network Representative Ronan Farrow, author and Sudan scholar Eric Reeves and the The Washington Post editorial board. Filmmaker Steven Spielberg, founder of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, sent a letter to Hu Jintao on April 2 2007 to discuss and possibly end China's involvement in the conflict. In February 2008, Spielberg announced he was stepping down from his role as an artistic advisor in protest of the Chinese government's refusal to pressure Khartoum to stop the "continuing human suffering" in the Darfur region. He noted: "Sudan's government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these on-going crimes, but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more." Additionally, a group of 106 lawmakers in the United States have circulated a letter calling for the US to boycott the coming Olympics because of China's support of the Sudanese regime and the forced relocation of 300,000 Chinese poor to make room for the games. Congresswoman Maxine Waters introduced a similar resolution in early August 2007.
On September 28, 2007, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu urged China to intervene in the ongoing protests in Myanmar. Tutu said that if China did not take a stance against the military rulers in Myanmar he would "join a campaign to boycott the Beijing Olympics". His call has been taken up by the U.S. Campaign for Burma.
The British Olympic Association (BOA) will require that before leaving for China, British Olympic team members sign an agreement, stating that they "are not to comment on any politically sensitive issues." However, BOA spokesman Graham Newsom stated that the BOA didn't intend to censor athletes, and referred to a rule in the International Olympic Committee charter which states, "No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas."
The Chinese government did however get a boost from US President George W. Bush, who declined to support actions taken in protest of the Chinese government, declaring: "I view the Olympics as a sporting event."
In March of 2008, few high-ranking politicians have openly announced that they will not attend the opening ceremony. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, was the first world leader to decide not to attend the Olympics in Beijing. But Germany's foreign minister said that Merkel had not planned to go to Beijing anyway, so there was "nothing to cancel", and "no link to Tibet". Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk, and the president of the Czech Republic, Václav Klaus, have also decided not to attend. However, Merkel's decision of not attending the ceremony is not officially linked to China's crackdown on dissidents in Tibet.
On April 2, 2008, the Japanese government announced that its royal family will not participate in the opening ceremony. China has requested the participation of the royal family to the Japanese government serveal times since last year. But besides the chinese poisonous dumplings and China's illegal development of the gas fields in the East China Sea, now the violent crackdown in Tibet has been the focus of international concern. These issues led the government to decide to reject the request.
On April 5, French newspaper Le Monde quoted a French minister as stating that the attendance of president Sarkozy at the opening ceremony is "conditional". Three conditions were set: "an end to violence against the population and the release of political prisoners, light to be shed on the events in Tibet and the opening of dialogue with the Dalai Lama." However, Minister Rama Yade said that Le Monde misquoted her as listing conditions, and that the word "conditions" was never used. BBC News wrote that while Sarkozy was opposed to a full boycott, he would "not close the door to any possibility" as far as his own attendance is concerned.
On Sunday April 6th, the Olyimpic torch on it's 130 day "journey of harmony" will make a 31-mile trip through London from Wembley Stadium at 10.30am to the O2 Arena in North Greenwich. There will be an eight-hour relay through the streets with 80 torchbearers and up to 80,000 spectators. The Free Tibet Campaign amongst at least six other groups will gather to protest along the official torch relay route with a further Tibetan Freedom Torch Rally at Argyle Square from 2.30pm. The Independant reported on April 5, The disabled comedian Francesca Martinez has become the first torchbearer to pull out of the relay in protest at China's human rights record. She was swiftly joined by another torchbearer, Richard Vaughan, the British badminton number one, who is also a member of a sporting pressure group committed to highlighting China's role in Sudan. Mark Byford, the deputy director general of the BBC has also withdrawn, while the sports presenter Gabby Logan is rumoured to be set to follow suit. Two thousand police officers are being drafted on to the streets with further air and marine support, to control the Olympic torch relay at an estimated cost of $2,000,000 USD.
Environmental and health issues
Concern has been raised over the air quality of Beijing and its potential effect on the athletes. Although the Beijing Municipal Government, in its bid file in 2001, committed to lowering air pollution, increasing environmental protection, and introducing environmental technology, research data show that even if the city were to dramatically cut down its emissions, pollution would still drift over the neighboring provinces, from which 50 percent of Beijing's air is believed to originate. At current levels, air pollution is at least 2 to 3 times higher than levels deemed safe by the World Health Organization. Marco Cardinale of the British Olympic Association has stated that air pollution coupled with heat and humidity makes it "very unlikely we'll see outstanding performances in endurance sports." Despite this, Beijing, in its commitment to improve air quality, will remove 60,000 taxis and buses from the roads by the end of 2007 and plans to relocate 200 local factories, including a prominent steel factory, before the games begin. The Chinese government has provided assurances that "blue skies are a requirement not only for Beijing, but also for the places around it." The United States Olympic Committee has also expressed its assurance that the air quality of Beijing will not be a concern for the U.S. delegation to the games. Nevertheless, recent medical research by the IOC suggest air pollution could pose a risk to the health of athletes.
In spite of such efforts, several countries have indicated that their athletes will arrive at the games as late as possible to limit exposure to pollution. Some countries have set up offshore training camps mainly in Japan to avoid the pollution.
Meteorological findings in April 2007 also have suggested that, based on rainfall data from the past 30 years, there is a 50 percent chance of rain for the opening and closing ceremonies of the games. To combat the chance of poor weather, Beijing officials plan to seed clouds to induce rain several days before the games begin by shooting thousands of silver iodate pellets into the air using ground-based rockets. While the effectiveness of this method is questionable, Beijing is optimistic that it will reduce the chance of rainfall during the games, and planned to carry out several tests as a practice in the summer of 2007, one year before the games begin. Officials have also stated that inducing rain should also remove some of the pollution from the air.
Another issue of concern is that of Beijing's poor tap water supply. A high-ranking Beijing official has stated that tap water in the city should be avoided. The water coming out of the water plants is safe, according to Bi Xiaogang of the Beijing Water Management Bureau; the process of transporting the water throughout the city is what contaminates it. Beijing is suffering from a drought of 15 years as well as a lack of major fresh water sources elsewhere, so many locals drink bottled water instead of that from the tap. Officials of the city water authority have ensured, however, that "the safety and efficiency of the water system" will be maintained and that the recycled water supplied to the Olympic Village will be as clean as tap water.
Following recent scares regarding the safety of food products manufactured in China, the United States Olympic Committee has decided to import food for its athletes. In particular, athletes were concerned that eating meat that was raised in China could contain enough steroids to cause the athletes to test positive for steroid use. The United States Olympic Committee's plan to bring its own food to China has disappointed the leader of food services for the Beijing Olympics.
Class discrimination
The new toilet facilities built in the Beijing stadiums can no longer be used by regular Chinese citizens living or working in the area. Concerns have been raised by Communist party officials that the hygiene issues of local citizens would affect the Beijing Olympic image. There is now a penalty of 100 to 500 Yuan imposed on any Chinese locals caught using the bathrooms.
See also
- 2008 Summer Olympics bids
- 2008 Summer Paralympics
- 2008 Summer Olympic venues
- 2008 Olympic Torch Relay
- Zhang Jigang (co-directing 2008 Opening and Closing Ceremonies)
- Zhang Yimou (co-directing 2008 Opening Ceremonies)
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
- All about the Olympic Paralympic Games of 2008 and the Future
- Information on beijing olympic 2008
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Notes
- The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture.
- The fencing programme will again include all six individual events and four team events, though the team events will be a different set than were held in 2004. The International Fencing Federation's rules call for events not held in the previous Games to receive automatic selection and for at least one team event in each weapon to be held. Voting is conducted to determine the fourth event. In 2004, the three men's team events and the women's épée were held. Thus, in 2008, the women's foil and sabre events and men's épée were automatically selected. Men's sabre was chosen over foil by a 45–20 vote.
- Poor-quality air in China contributes to the death of about 400,000 Chinese annually. Ozone and fine particulate matter—bits of carbon, sulfates, and industrial by-products—will be the two biggest pollution threats to the athletes in 2008. When high ozone levels are present, lungs are not able to absorb as much air, causing coughing, wheezing, or headaches.
External links
 National Olympic Committees at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China | |
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- "The Number Eight And The Chinese". Retrieved 2007-04-22.
- "List of decisions of the 2006 General Assembly" (PDF) (pdf). Federation Internationale d'Escrime. 2006-04-08. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Cite error: The named reference
PopSci pollution articlewas invoked but never defined (see the help page).