When Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, announced on April 14 it was withdrawing its bid for the 2010 Asian Games, people in Guangzhou, the capital of south China's Guangdong Province, started to see new hope for the local bid for the games.

Earlier this month, cities in the Republic of Korea and Jordan withdrew their bids.

This was stirred by the arrival in the city of the five-member Evaluation Committee of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to inspect venues and assess preparations for the games.

But the OCA officials said Kuala Lumpur's withdrawal does not mean that Guangzhou would automatically be the bid winner. They advised Guangzhou not to slack off in preparing for the bid.

OCA evaluation committee member Sheikh Abdul Ghani Tabbalat said that following the other three cities' withdrawals of their bids, the biggest hurdle for Guangzhou is now itself.

"Only when Guangzhou succeeds in showing its full potential can it expect to get the bid and host a successful games," he said.

Kuala Lumpur's withdrawal was announced after the OCA's evaluation committee inspected the city's preparations for the games.

The Malaysian Sports Minister said the estimated US$366 million needed to host the Games was too much.

Local residents believe the other three cities' withdrawals have improved Guangzhou's odds.

During its three-day stay in the city, the evaluation committee inspected various facilities, including sports venues, a disease monitoring center and the 110 emergency system, as well as cultural sites, all in an effort to evaluate the city's capacity and ability to host the games.

Ceslo Dayrit, vice president of OCA, said members of the evaluation committee are impressed with Guangzhou's plans, preparations and presentation for the bid and they will be fully satisfied with the sports facilities in the city if they are built as specified in their presentation.

"We are also deeply impressed by Guangzhou's potential for growth and look forward to seeing such growth," Dayrit said at a press conference held by the evaluation committee and the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games Bid Committee.

"The people in this city have impressed us most with their warmth, humility and cooperativeness, all things which will help ensure the success of the 2010 Asian Games," he said.

Dayrit said that although they found Kuala Lumpur capable of hosting the games, one essential factor was lacking in the bid presentation: the government's guarantee.

There are two basic qualifications necessary to have a chance of succeeding in a bid.

"One is that the transportation, security, medical, and other facilities be in line with the expectations of OCA, and the other is the government's guarantee backing the bid," said Dayrit.

A city with a long sports tradition, where many sports were introduced to the Chinese mainland through Guangzhou in earlier times, Guangzhou has already hosted many national and international sports events

If its bid succeeds, the city will add to the games up to six events -- including martial arts, golf and Chinese chess -- all of which are enjoyed by Asian sports fans. This will push the total number of sports in the Asian Games to 33.

In addition, the city will add two to three events for the disabled to satisfy requirements raised by the OCA.

The number of people involved in sports in the city has reached 42 percent of the total population, which puts it in the league of major cities in moderately developed countries.

Guangzhou also has more than 10,000 sports facilities covering a total area of 20 million square meters, including more than 50 advanced stadiums and gymnasiums, including the Olympic Sports Center, Tianhe Sports Center and the New Guangzhou Gymnasium.

According to a public survey, more than 90 percent of local residents know about the city's bid, and about 90 percent of them support it.

The same survey also shows that 86 percent of city residents are confident about the city's capacity and ability to host the Asian Games.

The city also issued 50,000 bid posters with different designs, featuring the slogans: "Cooperation, Competition and Development," "Invigorating Asia, Inspiring the World" and the organizing standard "Wholesome and Exciting; Green and Clean."

Before the OCA evaluation committee's arrival, thousands of city residents were leading various mass campaigns in the downtown streets to back the bid.

In the main streets, long lines of residents queued up, ranging from youngsters to 80-year-olds, to join in a signature collection campaign backing the city's bid. Fourteen Olympic champions whose hometowns are nearby joined them.

Other mass campaigns, from hikes to tours, were also launched to raise residents' awareness of Guangzhou's brightened hopes of achieving new heights of regional fame.

The Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games Bid Committee, encouraged and inspired by the positive evaluation of OCA, will seriously deal with the questions and suggestions, and take steps to improve areas of concern among members of the evaluation team aspects, said Xu Deli, vice governor of Guangdong Province.

"No matter whether Kuala Lumpur is in the competition or not, we will depend on our own ability and conditions to win the approval of OCA and other nations in Asia," Xu said.

Guangzhou also has the capability and willingness to observe the rules and regulations of OCA, which is one of the standards that a city must meet to bid for the games, added Zhang Guangning, mayor of Guangzhou.

He added that although the evaluation tour has concluded, the city's work for the games bid is far from finished.

If Guangzhou wins the bid, the city will invest 6 billion yuan (US$725.5 million) in sports facilities development to build 10 competition venues and refurbish or rebuild some existing stadiums.

The Asian Games Village, planned at the outset by the municipal government, is designed to offer all delegations a secure and comfortable living environment with its various facilities and services, such as accommodation, dining, entertainment, a hospital, financial services, digital communications and sports facilities.

The village, which will cover 120 hectares, has a budget of 1.6 billion yuan (US$193 million) and will be completed by 2010.

(China Daily April 19, 2004)