An Overview of the Preparation for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

The Organizing Committee for the Games of XXIX Olympiad

The Beijing Olympic Games will take place from August 8 to 24, 2008, followed by the Beijing Paralympic Games, which will be held from September 6-17.

With the support from the Chinese Government, the Chinese people as well as all social sectors, the preparation for the Beijing Olympic Games is progressing as planned. We have achieved, as scheduled, the goals set for each stage, laying a solid foundation for the successful staging of a “high-level Olympic Games with distinguishing features.”

1. Olympic venue construction is proceeding smoothly, and all new venues are under construction.Beijing will need 37 competition venues and 76 training venues for the 2008 Olympic Games. 31 out of the 37 competition venues are located in Beijing and the other six are outside Beijing, namely the Sailing venue in Qingdao, the Equestrian venue in Hong Kong and four venues for football preliminaries in Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao. Among the 31 competition venues in Beijing, 12 are new venues, 11 are existing venues to be renovated and expanded, and the remaining eight are temporary venues.

At present, construction of all the 12 new competition venues in Beijing has started. Of the 11 existing venues, the renovation and expansion of nine venues, including the Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, are underway; work on the other two venues, including the BeijingUniversity of Aeronautics & Astronautics Gymnasium, will begin by the end of this year. Five out of the eight temporary venues are under construction and the remaining three venues, including Urban Cycling Road Course, are in the pre-construction preparatory stage. In addition to the competition venues, construction of such facilities as the National Conference Centre, DigitalBeijingBuilding, Olympic Village, MediaVillage and Olympic Forest Park is also moving aheadas planned. With the completion of the work on Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, we are pressing on with the construction and renovation of venues outside Beijing. All competition venues and Olympic-related facilities will be completed by the end of 2007 to ensure the smooth operation of the test events and to meet the needs of the Olympic Games.

2. Progress has been made in competition organization, and preparation in co-host cities are in full swing.The 2008 Olympic Games has a total of 28 sports，38 disciplines and 302 events. There will be 18 competition days and 623 competition sessions.The Competition Schedule by Day and the Competition Schedule by Session have been approved by the IOC, and the Competition Managers for 28 sports have been confirmed by the International Sports Federations. All competition venues for the Beijing Olympic Games have been defined. The training venues for most sports have also been identified.

As approved by the IOC, the Equestrian competitions have been relocated from Beijing to Hong Kong. On October 5, 2005, the Equestrian Committee (Hong Kong) of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad was officially established and preparation for Equestrian competition initiated in a full scale. Organizations for the preparation of Sailing competition in Qingdao and Football Preliminaries in Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao have also been set up. BOCOG has signed the principle agreement on relations between BOCOG and the municipal governments of the five co-host cities. Games preparation in those cities is now in full swing.

Around 40 test events will be held prior to the Beijing Olympic Games in order to test the venues and facilities as well as the capability of BOCOG in organizing international sports competitions. In mid and late August, the ISF XI Women's World Championship will take place in Beijing and the 2006 Qingdao International Regatta will be held. At present, preparations for those two events are underway.

3. Preparation for the Paralympic Games is going on at the same time and is progressing well as planned. There are 20 sports on the programme of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, where around 4,000 athletes will compete. Currently, BOCOG is carrying on the preparatory work for both Games based on the principle of “Concurrent preparations, Equal excellence.”Entitled “Sky, Earth and Human Being”, the emblem of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games has been unveiled and well received by people from all walks of life. With the development of the Guidelines on Accessibility for Beijing Paralympic Games, we have defined the evaluation, design, approval, construction and inspection procedures for accessibility. In November 2005, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) General Assembly was held in Beijing, which further enhanced the relation between BOCOG and the IPC. On June 5 this year, Beijing Paralympic Marketing Programme was officially launched.So far, 22 Chinese and overseas enterprises have become the partners or sponsors of the Paralympic Games. Mascot for the Paralympic Games will be unveiled on September 6, the day of the two-year countdown to the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

4. Olympic marketing has yielded good results and indicated rosy future.Since the Beijing Olympic Marketing Programme was launched in September 2003, BOCOG has followed the principle of “Run the Olympic Games Openly”, encouraging Chinese and overseas companies to join in. 11 IOC Worldwide Olympic Partners will offer financial and service support to the Beijing Olympic Games. Another 11 Chinese and overseas companies have become the partners of the Games. In addition, nine enterprises have become the sponsors of the Games. Since the Olympic Licensing Programme and the Supplier Programme kicked off, five exclusive suppliers and one supplier have been selected. 248 licensed stores have been opened across China and the first set ofOlympic commemorative stamps has been issued. Judging from the current situation, the outlook for Beijing Olympic marketing is fairly rosy. Revenue from the Games is expected to exceed the target set during the bid process.

BOCOG has enhanced its efforts to protect sponsors’ rights and to provide services for them.BOCOG Partner Club has been established to improve sponsor services and hospitality. In addition, BOCOG has organized two Sponsor Workshops. With the support from the industrial and commercial administration bureaus across China, campaigns have been launched to protect the Olympic brand via anti-ambush marketing efforts.

5. Communications and cultural activities have provided a favourable social environment. We have unveiled the emblem of the Beijing Olympic Games. On June 26, 2005, the theme slogan of the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games – “One World, One Dream” – was released. The slogan, which was well received by people from all walks of life, fully expresses Chinese people’s love for the Olympic Movement and their aspirations to progress together with the world people. On November 11, 2005, on the occasion of the 1000-day countdown to the 2008 Olympic Games, the mascots “FuWa” were unveiled and they are also well received by the public. To promote Olympic education among youth and children, 200 schools in Beijing have been designated as Olympic education model schools. By the end of the year, 500 such schools will be established across China. To date we have organized four Olympic Cultural Festivals. During the 4th Olympic Cultural Festival that has recently concluded, the Mass Fitness Week, the Olympic Sculpture Exhibition, the “Olympic Rhythm” open-air concert, the 2nd Beijing International Sports Film Week, the Exhibition of Calligraphy & Artworks by People with disabilities in China and many other events attracted numerous residents. We have also developed Olympic Volunteer plan. In late August, the Olympic Volunteer Recruitment Programme will be launched to recruit a large number of qualified volunteers to work for the Olympic Games. This will also help upgrade the level of volunteer services in the whole society

The Olympic Torch Relay is a prelude to the Olympic Games. The Beijing Olympic Torch Relay will focus on domestic areas and involve international cities as well. Currently, we are doing in-depth research on the international route of the Torch Relay. The Olympic flame will, for the first time in history, ascend the top of Mount Everest. Through the Torch Relay, BOCOG will communicate to the world the messages of peace, cooperation and harmony. The Torch Relay Programme Leading Group has been set up to oversee the work. And BOCOG has also established the Torch Relay Centre, which is currently conducting an assessment and a review on the route and scope of the relay.

The Opening and Closing Ceremonies are integral parts of the Olympic Games. To ensure the quality of the ceremonies, BOCOG invited famous Chinese and foreign directors, artists and experts in April this year to form a core team for the creation and production of Beijing Olympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The Ceremonies will embody the slogan of “One World, One Dream” and the three concepts of “Green Olympics, Hi-tech Olympics and People’s Olympics”, highlight the two subjects of “Civilization” and “Harmony”, through the presentation of the evolution of Chinese civilization and integration of world civilizations and combining Chinese cultural elements with Olympic elements. A complete creative plan for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and a technical implementation plan are expected to be formulated by the end of this year.

6. Substantial progress has been made in media services. The Beijing Olympic Media Centre, which is in charge of arranging interviews for domestic and overseas media, was officially established In November 2004. The Beijing Olympic Broadcasting Co., Ltd (BOB), which is responsible for the broadcast of the 2008 Olympic Games, went into operation last year. It is also in last year, BOCOG successfully held the 2005 World Broadcaster Briefing. We made new commitment on Olympic media services at the briefing and received favourable comments from the world broadcasters. This year, BOCOG will organize the 2006 World Broadcaster Meeting and the First World Press Briefing to update the domestic and overseas media on accommodation, transport and other services to be provided for them.

BOCOG is currently working closely with the relevant government agencies in China in making policies to facilitate the media coverage of the Games preparation and the Games. BOCOG will also develop the Beijing Olympic Games Media Service Guide for Overseas Media which is aimed to facilitate their work in China.

7. Preparatory work on transport, security, accommodation, catering and medical services is in full swing. BOCOG has defined the transport coordination and command mechanism. The Preliminary Strategic Plan for Olympic Security and the Plan for Olympic Games Risk Assessment have been completed. We have signed lodging agreements with 112 hotels to cater the needs of the guests at the Games-time. Food Safety Action Plan for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games has been formulated and implemented. With the support from the Ministry of Health and the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau, 21 medical institutions and a doping test centre for the 2008 Olympic Games have been designated.

8. Work on City Operations and Venue Operations has been officially launched. The Beijing Municipal Government has appointed Liaison Officers for City Operations, City Look, and Culture and Entertainment. In cooperation with the municipal government, BOCOG has formulated the Concept of Operations for City Operations, which defines the goals, tasks, coordination mechanism, resources and organizational structure for the work of Games-timeCity Operations in terms of temporary facility construction, environmental protection and energy supply. On the other hand, work on Olympic Venue Operations has started. Following the founding of the Venue Management Department, the formulation of the Concept of operations for Venue Operations and the operation of a model venue, the municipal government and BOCOG jointly organized meetings on the work of Olympic Venue Operations and periphery support. Tasks on venue operations and periphery support have been assigned to relevant districts, counties and municipal departments in Beijing.

Spurred by the preparation of the Olympic Games, the social and economic development in Beijing has maintained dynamic and sound momentum. People’s living standard has seen constant improvement. In 2005, the GDP of Beijing increased by 11.8 percent and the GDP per capita reached US$5,457. A large number of transport infrastructure projects have started. Six roads around the Olympic venues have been built, and the construction of another 25 roads as well as Subway Line 5, Line 10 and Line 4 is speeding up. Beijing’s environment quality has greatly improved. “Blue sky” days in Beijing accounted for 64.1 percent of the total days in 2005, 15.7% higher than in 2000. The forest coverage rate of the city has reached 50.5 percent, meeting the target set for 2008 two years in advance. In addition, the increasingly dynamic cultural exchanges have enriched people’s life. Various events including the Beijing International Tourism Cultural Festival have boosted the cultural exchange between China and the rest of the world. Scope and depth of the Sino-foreign cultural exchange in Beijing has reached an all-time high. Civility and Moral awareness of the residents is constantly improving. Campaigns to create a sound social environment for the Olympic Games have been launched. A healthier and more harmonious society and cultural environment are taking shape. The city’s economic growth has maintained sound and dynamic momentum in the first half of this year with a GDP growth at 12.3%. Beijing is getting ready for hosting a successful Olympic Games in 2008.

From 2007 onwards, preparation for the Olympic Games will enter the test stage. BOCOG will follow the guidelines on Games preparation laid down by the Chinese Government and intensify its work in all functional areas so as to lay solid foundations for Beijing to stage a “high-level Olympic Games with distinguishing features.”