Yesterday, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) began a campaign to collect materials associated with earlier bidding and organizing processes as part of a legacy-building program.

"As far as we know, up to now there are only a few China-related artifacts in Lausanne's Olympic Museum, so we hope to leave more of a legacy about our Olympic campaign to the world," said Xu Da, director of the BOCOG Information Center.

Documents, paintings, photos, handicrafts, designing schemes, models and souvenirs from Beijing's two bids, 1991-1993 and 1999-2001, and any from before December 31 relating to the organizing process for the 2008 games are being sought.

Losing the bid for the 2000 Olympic Games to Sydney in 1993 remains a bitter memory and few artifacts regarding the bid remain.

"The Beijing Museum still has no collection from our first bidding campaign," Xu said. "We are eager for such valuable donations from people."

According to the organizers, the most important aspect of donations is their background stories.

"Mass participation is the biggest characteristic of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. We believe there must be many objects that could reflect the moving stories behind the Chinese people's Olympic dream," Xu said.

Organized by the BOCOG and Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, the collection will continue until April 30.

Donated materials can be sent to the soliciting office at Capital Museum, or they can be contacted by e-mail at zhengji@beijingmuseum.org.cn. The final collection will be exhibited in the capital during the third Olympic Cultural Festival from June 23 to July 13.

(China Daily February 23, 2005)