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As Beijing on Tuesday marks the one-month countdown to the start of the Olympics, here are 30 reasons which make the Games special:
1. Volunteers
The 100,000-strong army of Beijing Olympic volunteers is the largest in Olympic history.
Each of the 70,000 Olympic and 30,000 Paralympic volunteers has undergone months of training.
The good Samaritans from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Europe, the US and Australia will join 400,000 city volunteers who will help visitors on Beijing's streets.
Volunteers were honored with the song, I Am a Star.
2. Double the responsibility
2008 is the first time one organizing team will oversee both the Olympics and Paralympics.
The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) is the first organization to shoulder such a formidable responsibility and BOCOG has promised the two events will be of equal splendor.
3. First digital broadcast
High-definition technology will be used for all TV broadcast operations, with all events and ceremonies enjoying 5.1 surround sound, a first for the Olympics.
Clearer screen pictures and scenery will be a feature of the Beijing Games
4. Biggest TV audience ever
A record 4 billion people are set to watch the Beijing Games.
Beijing Olympic Broadcasting (BOB), the official broadcaster of the Games, will produce about 5,400 hours of programs during the 17-day gala, 2,000 more than in Athens four years ago.
5. Multimedia for the first time
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has, for the first time, separately sold broadcasting rights for television and new media such as Internet and mobile networks.
CCTV acquired the TV rights for the Beijing Games, while CCTV.com was awarded the domestic Internet and mobile platform license. CCTV.com recently signed an agreement with Sohu.com, the Games' Internet content services sponsor, to share content.
6. Biggest media contingent ever
About 40,000 journalists will cover the Games, including 21,600 accredited media workers in press, broadcasting and television.
The Beijing International Media Center will also provide some 10,000 non-accredited journalists work areas and accommodation, among other services.
7. Largest number of host cities
To help host a successful Games, six cities in China have joined Beijing as co-hosts. Tianjin, Shanghai, Qinhuangdao in Hebei province and Shenyang in Liaoning province will stage some Olympic soccer matches.
The coastal city of Qingdao in Shandong province will host the sailing regatta, while Hong Kong, a city with a long history of horse racing and matching first-class facilities, will play host to equestrian events.
8. New sports
To modernize the Games, the IOC will introduce two new sports to the Beijing Games: Bicycle motocross (BMX) and the 10km marathon swim.
BMX will offer two gold medals in individual men and women's competitions.
Marathon swimming will be held in Shunyi Water Park and offer two gold medals in individual men and women's competitions.
Owing to limited participation worldwide, softball and baseball are expected to make their final Olympic appearance in Beijing after being axed from the London program.
9. Cheerleaders
Some 600 cheerleaders from all over the country will go all out to entertain spectators with Chinese folk dancing, acrobatics, drum shows, lion dancing and martial arts during time-outs. Cheerleaders were selected from national Olympic cheerleading competitions and local clubs.
10. The Beijing Green
The Olympic Forest Park, 680 hectares of plantation and lakes, has given the city a new green lung.
Beijing also built a number of new water purification plants for daily water recycling, replaced dated equipment at its power plants and retrofitted gas stations citywide.
The inclusion of solar power, rain-recycling and energy-saving facilities during venue construction are all helping the Games live up to its "Green Olympics" billing.
Beijing has also planted millions of trees to minimize sandstorms. It is also working with neighboring provinces to cut emissions.
11. Torch relay the longest, highest
The Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay was scheduled to travel the longest distance and include the largest number of people over 130 days.
It reached the highest peak of Mount Qomolangma on May 8. Following the Sichuan earthquake, the torch relay route was curtailed in each city and special mourning sessions were added.
The leg in earthquake-hit Sichuan province has been rescheduled to August, just before the Games begins.
12. English, English
A 170-page Chinese Menu in English Version is seen as exemplary of one success of the English-speaking campaign throughout the city.
Pop stars teaching audiences correct English pronunciation and cab drivers toting language books all are part of Beijing's multilingual pre-Olympic effort.
A total of 4,104 Chinese have been named Aoyun (Chinese for "the Olympics") in homage to the Beijing Olympic Games, according to the figures released by the National Citizen Identity Information Center under the Ministry of Public Security in June.
Nearly 700 of the names were registered in 1992, when Beijing first applied to host the Games and another 553 were registered in 2001, when the city officially won the bid.
About 92 percent of those named Aoyun are male.
14. Weddings during the year and on opening day
Aug 8, 2008, or 08-08-08, is more than just a date: it marks both the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games and is considered a lucky day for marriage with so many eights. It is estimated that 15,000 couples will marry in Beijing on the day and 130,000-140,000 this year.
15. Highest number of cultural festivals
Games organizers have held an annual Olympic cultural festival since 2003, with the sixth beginning two weeks ago and running for the next three months.
China's ancient culture and civilization are now being showcased to promote the Olympic spirit and publicize a green, hi-tech and people's Olympics.
16. Massive Olympic education campaign
Educating young people through sports is one of the primary goals of the Olympic Movement.
About 400 million young people in more than 500,000 schools across the country have received Olympic lessons ahead of the Beijing Games. More than 500 model schools have been named and a series of Olympic readers compiled and presented to students.
17. Highest number of doping tests
The anti-doping effort at the Beijing Games will be more extensive than ever, with as many as 4,500 doping tests, 25 percent more than in Athens four years ago and 90 percent more than in Sydney in 2000.
Tests will be carried out from July 27 at 41 test stations at the Olympic Village and all Olympic match venues.
18. Highest spending
The cost of the Beijing Games will dwarf the previous Olympics in Greece with total investment likely to reach $43 billion.
Venues, estimated to have cost about $1.8 billion to build, will be utilized as public sport and entertainment complexes afterwards.
19. Largest transport expansion
Beijing's first subway linking Fuxingmen and Beijing Railway Station was initially built for military use, but today, 1.5 million passengers ride the 2-yuan subway each day.
20. Highest number of mascots - five
Multiple Olympic mascots are not uncommon, but for the first time more than three figures will share Summer Olympic mascot duty when the five Fuwa take center stage.
21. Venues on fengshui
Beijing wished for its Olympic venues to be an expansion of its history and culture, both of which are firmly set on the spine of the city, a 7.7 km axis line running right through the emperor's seat at the Forbidden City, the middle of Tian'anmen Square, the Drum and Bell towers and Yongdingmen.
The north-south axis was believed to bring eternal stability, prompting designers of the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube to position them on either side of it.
In doing so, they have integrated modern ideas with the deep-rooted spirit of the Middle Kingdom.
22. Record number of sponsors, revenue
Since launching the Beijing 2008 Olympic Marketing Plan in September 2003, a total of 63 enterprises have become sponsors of the Beijing Games, including 12 worldwide Olympic partners.
BOCOG's deal with sports equipment supplier adidas covers 18 sports, and more than 6,000 officially licensed Olympic products have hit the market.
23. Largest ever team from China
China will field its largest Olympic team to date when about 570 athletes contest 28 sports in Beijing.
24. Lowest ticket prices
Taking into account China's average purchasing power, BOCOG ensured a low-price policy for Beijing Olympic and Paralympic tickets.
Opening ceremony prices were capped at 5,000 yuan ($641) per head, while the lowest price to a sports competition was 30 yuan ($4).
Closing ceremony tickets ranged from 150-3,000 yuan ($19-385), preliminary competition tickets from 30-300 yuan ($4-39) and tickets to the finals cost between 60 and 1,000 yuan ($8-128).
BOCOG also reserved about 14 percent of all domestically sold tickets for students at the handsome price of 5 yuan ($0.6) and 10 yuan ($1.2) for preliminaries and finals respectively.
25. Highest number of foreign coaches
In striving for excellence, various Chinese national teams have invited foreign coaches to guide them.
More than 30 foreign coaches are currently working with the Chinese Olympic team.
Many among them, such as men's basketball coach Jonas Kazlauskas (right) from Lithuania and synchronized swimming head coach Masayo Imura from Japan, are expected to lead the home outfits to their peak performances.
26. Number of China-born athletes representing other federations
A group of Chinese-born athletes representing other countries or regions will be an important force in Beijing.
Led by former badminton national team member Zhou Mi and Wang Chen, who represent Hong Kong, and table tennis player Li Jiawei of Singapore, they will pose formidable challenges to their Chinese rivals.
27. Number of Chinese coaches in other countries and regions
A number of Chinese coaches will lead foreign teams on home soil, such as women's volleyball legend Lang Ping (right), who will lead the US women's team.
Meanwhile, former coach of the Chinese badminton team Li Mao will lead the South Korean team.
28. Medals of jade
Olympic medals are for the first time made of metal and jade. The medals were inlaid with Kunlun jade from China's Qinghai province in a symbol of "respect" and "virtue" in the Chinese tradition.
29. Wushu
People who love Chinese martial arts must not miss the Beijing 2008 Wushu Tournament to be held on the sidelines of the Beijing Olympic Games from Aug 21 to 24 at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium.
About 128 athletes from 43 countries and regions will contest. Approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Chinese martial arts competition will feature 15 events, including 10 in Taolu (the routines) and five for Sanshou (fights).
Although not a medal sport, the tournament will be an important showcase and springboard for wushu's wish to join the Olympic family.
30. Significance of 08-08-08
It is no coincidence that the Beijing Games begins at 8 pm on the 8th day of the 8th month of '08.
The number 8 has special significance to the Chinese, because 8 in Chinese is pronounced "ba", which sounds a lot like "fa", which means prosperity or wealth, as in "", which means to become rich.
In Chinese culture, 8 also denotes the number of immortals and structure of trigrams, both of which are linked to auspicious ideas.
Also, when two digits of the number 8 are placed together - "88" - they resemble the stylized form of two Chinese ""characters, hence representing double happiness, a popular motif and design usually pasted upon the doors of newly married Chinese couples.
The number 8 is highly favored among the Chinese for its connotations of good luck, fortune and longevity. |
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发表于 2008-7-16 09:31
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