Internet users in Chongqing have suggested making August 8 an annual festival to mark the 29th Beijing Olympics and hail the sporting spirit in China, local newspaper Chongqing Shangbao reported.

A Chongqing person with a online ID as "Bo 8341" first posted this proposal in an online forum on August 12 and won numerous followers, the newspaper said.

Later, mainstream news website cqnews.net placed the post on its homepage and over 100 netizens left their messages echoing the same opinion in one day.

A local media outlet in Chongqing also published an initiative supporting the setting up of the "Sports Day", which drew more than 32 influential media including the capital-based Beijing Youth Daily answering the call.

The voice was heard by officials of the General Administration of Sport of China.

To establish a nationwide festival is a significant decision and needs much deliberation, an anonymous official said.

The administration will discuss the proposal after the Olympics, the official added. He also thanked enthusiastic netizens and the media for their support.

The grand opening of the Beijing Olympics on August 8 should be remembered, no matter in what forms, Yu Dan, a famed scholar and professor of Beijing Normal University, said.

The establishing of a "Sports Day" will certainly pass on the Olympic spirit in China even after the Beijing Olympics is concluded, the professor added.

(CRIENGLISH.com August 14, 2008)