Did China trade votes to get the 2008 Olympics?
Wednesday, 21st October 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Rogge visits with Chinese president Hu Jintao on his trip to China last week
"The Beijing Olympic bid committee decided on a tactic of strategic alliance-making. We would link Chinese support for Rogge in exchange for European committee members' support for Beijing," Yuan writes. "Of course, we also made some promises to link up with some of our friends in supporting Rogge. This tactic was our overall strategy."
Rogge and Beijing were selected at the same IOC meeting in Moscow. The IOC, not at all surprisingly, denies the accusation, pointing out that Rogge was elected by a "large majority," so China's lone vote didn't make the difference. But Yuan's assertion that China corralled "some of our friends" to support Rogge weakens that defense considerably.
Yuan says there was no written agreement, so evidence would be hard to come by (Hmm… sounds like another Chinese sports corruption case--Corruption scandal hits Chinese diving).
I'm not too familiar with the inner workings of the IOC, but it all sounds pretty likely to me. On the one hand, you have an international organization that is driven as much by politics and commerce as it is by sports, and operates with no real oversight. On the other hand, you have a country that desperately wanted to host the games, with a bid committee full of people who surely know how to leverage political power in underhanded ways, and who operate with no real oversight. Too bad Rod Blagojevich is headed to prison—he would have made a great IOC committee member.
News of the accusations in the memoir is coming out just after Rogge gave a lot of face to Chinese leaders in sports and politics, sitting near Hu Jintao at the opening ceremony for the Chinese National Games, and stopping by the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament.
It's an interesting story, but behind it there's another one--what happened to Yuan Weimin that made him want to rat out the Chinese Olympic Committee?
Rogge/Hu Jintao image: Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affaris
Tags: Beijing Olympics, corruption, IOC, Jacques Rogge, Shanghai Masters, Yuan Weimin
BOCOG reports 1.16 million RMB profit
Wednesday, 24th June 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
China made RMB 1.16 billion (US $170 million) in operating profit from the 2008 Olympic Games, a Chinese government auditor recently reported (full story from the Financial Times here).The Beijing Olympic committee reaped its revenues primarily from sponsorships and TV broadcast rights, according to the Financial Times. Its expenditures were on "transport, accommodation, medical services and temporary event infrastructure." The expenditure numbers do not include construction of the 93 new facilities required for the games. And the Financial Times points out that absent from the report are the amounts spent on improving air quality or improving the capital's infrastructure with new subways and roads.
Here are some other numbers from that report:
RMB 20.5 billion (USD $2.925 billion): Revenues as of March 15 for Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) RMB 800 million above budget.
RMB 19.34 billion (USD $2.829 billion): BOCOG expenditures
RMB 19.455 billion (USD $2.846 billion): Investment in 93 new sports venues
RMB 3.5 billion: Initial investment in Bird's Nest stadium
RMB 150 million: Annual maintenance cost for Bird's Nest
30,000: Maximum number of tickets that current operators of the Bird's Nest can sell daily for tours of the white elephant
Tags: Beijing Olympics, Bird's Nest, Olympics, sports venues
Olympic air worse than reported
Tuesday, 23rd June 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Air quality at the 2008 Olympics was worse than previously reported, according to new research compiled jointly by U.S. and Chinese universities.Particulate air pollution during the games exceeded excessive levels as defined by the World Health Organization, and was 30 percent worse than Chinese environmental experts have said, according to a report published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. The research was conducted by scientists from Oregon State University and Peking University, and funded by the National Science Foundation in the United States and the National Science Foundation of China.
Nature's own cleaning agents may have done more to clear the air than the well-reported man-made efforts employed last year by Beijing, says Staci Simonich, an OSU associate professor of environmental and molecular toxicology: "It was some evening rains and favorable shifts in the winds that provided the most relief from the pollution."
View the complete study here A photographic account of pollution during the games, from the Oregon State researchers, is available on Flickr.
Tags: 2008 Olympics, Beijing Olympics, pollution
Titan's Top 20 Sports Moments of 2008
Monday, 12th January 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (4)
What does the Chinese media see as the top stories in sports last year? Titan, China's leading sports newspaper, did a year-end roundup of the top 50 sports stories in 2008. Below are the first 20, with their original headlines and CST's translation.
1. 9.69: Track and Field Wins (9.69: 田经赢了)
Unconventionally tall Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt set a new world record, 9.69 seconds, in the 100-meter dash. China fell in love with Bolt's superhuman performance on the track and his joie de vivre, on and off of it.
2. Phelps' single-handed 8 golds（菲尔菩斯单届八金）
It wasn't lost on Chinese citizens that Michael Phelps' eight-gold-medal performance matched China's most auspicious number in an Olympics that kicked off on a lucky date, 8.8.08.
3. China's fast rise as a powerhouse （CHINA, 大国崛起)
This one refers to China's 51-gold medal Olympic performance; its dominance of sports including table tennis, diving and weightlifting; its impressive new Olympic venues, the Water Cube and the Bird's Nest; and the Opening Ceremonies, which are seen by many Chinese as a high point of the games.
4. Spain's Year （西班牙年）
Spain won soccer's EuroCup, watched throughout China. Rafael Nadal was on the front page of Titan at least twice in a year that saw him win at the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympics. Spain took the Olympic silver medal in basketball, runners-up to a U.S. team that fans here fawned over from the moment they arrived on Chinese soil.
5. The most records, the fewest doping cases （最多纪录, 最少阳生）
This one refers to the 38 world records and 132 world records set at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the low number of positive drug results for Olympic athletes.
6. Hamilton, youngest F1 champion （汉密尔顿最年轻F1冠军）
Great Britain's Lewis Hamilton was 2008's Formula One champion, the youngest driver and the first black person to do so.
7. USA's Big-ball dominance （大求,美国霸权）
China likes to talk about "big-ball" sports (basketball, soccer, volleyball) and "small-ball" sports (table tennis, badminton). The United States won six golds, four silvers and one bronze in the sports that Titan considers "big-ball" sports.
8. Wimbledon Final
Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer in one of the most thrilling Wimbledon Finals ever.
9. Three championships for Manchester United, Three runner-ups for Chelsea (Manchester United三冠, Chelsea三亚)
Man U won the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup for the 2007-2008 season. Chelsea were runners-up for the Premier League the UEFA, and the Football League Cup (aka, Carling League Cup).
10. Return of the Dream Team （梦之队 回归）
The United States reclaimed Olympic basketball gold after a disappointing bronze medal finish at the 2004 Olympics.
11. One-legged Tiger (一条腿的老虎)
Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open on a broken leg, pushed by runner-up Rocco Mediate to a playoff and a sudden-death round. The two golfers played 91 holes over five days.
12. NBA returns to tradition (NBA 回归传统)
The Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. It was the 11th time the two teams faced each other in the finals, but it had been more than 20 years since the last time they played each other for the title.
13. Gold Medal Team （金牌之队）
This item refers to the Jamaican Olympic team, which only won 11 medals overall, but took six golds in track and field, all in sprint events.
14. EuroCup 5-4-3 (欧洲联赛之 "5－4－3"）
15. The 24th time, 5.05 meters (第24次,5米05)
Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbaeva set the world record for the 24th time, winning Olympic gold with her 5.05-meter vault.
16. Premiere League becomes the No. 1 Soccer League (英超成为第一足球联赛)
17。Dakar Rally Stopped (达喀尔停摆)
Formerly the Paris-Dakar Rally, this off-road race was canceled for 2008 due to political instability in Senegal. The 2009 rally will take place in South America.
18。Injuries impact professional sports (伤病重创职业体育)
Titan points out some of the biggest injuries in sports last year, from Ronaldo's ruptured tendon, to Yao Ming's stress fracture, to Liu Xiang's Achilles tendon.
19。American tragedy X 3 (美国悲剧 X 3)
This one refers to the USA's big disappointments in Olympic track and field. The U.S. men's and the women's 4X100 teams both dropped the baton in preliminary rounds, and Tyson Gay failed to qualify to compete for the title "Fastest man in the world."
20.Female Phelps (女菲尔普斯)
41-year-old Dara Torres shattered beliefs about age barriers, winning three silver medals in Olympic swimming.
Tags: Beijing Olympics, Titan Sports
U.S. editors vote Beijing Olympics 5th biggest story for 2008
Tuesday, 23rd December 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The Associated Press' annual poll of U.S. editors and news directors voted the Beijing Olympics the fifth biggest news story of of 2008, coming in behind the U.S. election, the economic meltdown, oil prices and the American occupation of Iraq.It's a pretty safe bet that a similar vote in China would put the Olympics at the top of that list, followed by the Sichuan earthquake of last May.
Sports fans in the United States who want to relive more Olympic moments can tune in December 27 to NBC's look back at the games, "Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony: TV Event of the Year," hosted by Bob Costas and Matt Lauer.
Tags: Beijing Olympics
Olympics celebrated one more time for Golden Week
Wednesday, 1st October 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Gold medals for staying awake
Having more fun that China's outstanding athletes are the millions on vacation this week. And for those who spend the holiday in Beijing, the government has opened Olympic venues to the public this week.
The Golden Week festivities are taking place amid talk of one ugly piece of Olympic news—the possibility (er, likelihood?) that officials knew about but covered upmelamine-contaminated milk that has sickened tens of thousands of Chinese children, at least in part to keep bad news out of the media during the games.
Tags: Beijing Olympics, Golden Week, National Day, Olympics
Olympic marketing: How did sportswear brands do?
Friday, 29th August 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
For sports apparel brands, the Olympics are arguably the most important stage for marketing. So how did the sports marketers fare with the Chinese market in these Olympics? Here's a look at how things played out for Adidas, Li-Ning, Nike, Puma and Speedo.Adidas
Adidas reportedly shelled out 70 million euros to be an official Olympic sponsor. Adidas gear was also all over Olympians, great for television. But aside from shoes and uniforms, Adidas wasn't particularly visible in Olympic venues. It had no special presence on the Olympic Green, but its beautiful flagship store in Sanlitun near the Workers' Stadium and Workers' Gymnasium saw lots of foot traffic.
Adidas' Olympic sponsorship allowed it to use the Bird's Nest and Olympic logo.
Its Olympic ad campaign, though beautifully designed and fitting in concept (Together in 2008, Impossible is Nothing), came up short in the personnel categories. That campaign had four primary faces, in sports that are very popular in China--diver Hu Jia, footballer Zheng Zhi, basketball player Sui Feifei and a few women's volleyball players. Hu pulled out due to injury, Zheng and the men's football team had an embarrassing performance and Sui Feifei was only sixth in scoring on Team China. The women's volleyball team played strong in a very tough field, but in the end only came through with the minimum result acceptable to the hometown fans, a bronze medal.
Li-Ning
China's biggest sports apparel brand had the biggest marketing coup of the games—its founder, Li Ning, carrying the Olympic flame on a three-minute slow-motion run to the top of the Bird's Nest, where he lit the Olympic cauldron. The company's stock went up the next day, and Li Ning will always have his stamp on what seems to be an especially important part of the Olympics to Chinese fans.
Li-Ning's storefronts were generic during the games, but there was nothing generic about its opening ceremony product placement.
Li Ning also had its name on the uniforms of China's diving and table tennis teams, who delivered dominant performances, as well as the Spanish national basketball team, which gave Team USA a tough match before losing in the gold medal game.
Nike
Nike's two biggest bets on Chinese athletes were Yi Jianlian and Liu Xiang. Yi was solid but not explosive, averaging 9 points a game. The Chinese national team, wearing Nike jerseys, didn't really exceed expectations, but certainly didn't come up short, making it to the quarterfinals before losing to Lithuania. But Chinese fans were more excited about catching a glimpse of Team USA, who were also sporting Nike's hot new jersey, available in stores all over Beijing.
Nike had to deal with the toughest spin job of any Olympic marketer this year—how to salvage its investment in China's biggest sports star, Liu Xiang, when he didn't even compete in the games. Nike's immediate answer--a full page ad celebrating the love of sport even in defeat--succeeded in becoming part of the stream of catharsis after Liu bowed out. Nike got some negative publicity for its efforts to hunt down netizens who alleged that the shoe company had coerced Liu to drop out rather than lose to Robles.
Nike hedged its big-name bets by backing lesser-known athletes as well.
But Liu and Yi weren't the only athletes that Nike put is name behind. It was all over team China, and ready with full-page ads in China Daily and front-page ads in Titan sports news when any of its athletes won a medal or had a strong performance. Swimmer Zhang Lin (silver medalist), boxer Zou Shiming (gold medalist) and beach volleyball duo Tian Jia and Wang Fei (silver medalists) were just a few of the lower-profile high-achieving athletes that Nike celebrated in its Olympic campaign.
Puma
Dollar for dollar, Puma might have gotten the most of its Olympic investment. Its hopes ran on two spiked shoes-- those of sprinter Usain Bolt, who loped across the finish line to set the 100-meter dash world record. China loves a winner, and Bolt and the dominant Jamaican team were very well-received in Beijing. Jacques Rogge can complain all he wants, but most Chinese don't mind a guy who's willing to revel in his moment.
Speedo
If you weren't wearing a Speedo LZR Racer in this Olympics, you might as well never leave the Water Cube's warm-up pool. Nine out of every 10 swimming gold medals went to LZR wearers. The only complaint that people had about the LZR was that it made swimmers too fast, world records too common. The suit was considered such an integral part of success that Nike agreed to let its swimmers wear LZRs instead of Nike suits. Speedo doesn't have a big presence at Chinese sports retailers—swimwear here tends to be generic instead of branded—but China, along with the rest of the world, has no choice but to see Speedo as the leader in swimwear technology.
Tags: Adidas, athletics, Beijing Olympics, Hu Jia, Li-Ning, Liu Xiang, marketing, Nike, Olympics, Puma, Speedo, Sui Feifei, swimming, Tian Jia, Titan, Usain Bolt, volleyball, Wang Fei, Zhang Lin, Zheng Zhi, Zou Shiming
Yao on the Olympic hangover
Monday, 25th August 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
After seven years of preparation, hype and a call to "spread Olympic culture," whatever that is, China woke up this morning in a post-2008 Olympics world.Even if you live in China, it's difficult as a foreigner to understand what hosting the games really meant to many people here. The Houston Chronicle's Fran Blinebury asked Yao Ming how he feels about the party being over, and got a weighty response, including these words:
"We have spent so many years preparing for this event and now it is over. I have just played in the most important competition of my career. Is my life over?
"I know that's not true. I know that sounds silly. But I guess you have to be Chinese to understand part of that feeling now and maybe you have to be me to know it all."
"I know that's not true. I know that sounds silly. But I guess you have to be Chinese to understand part of that feeling now and maybe you have to be me to know it all."
The whole story, which essentially reads as a monologue from Yao on his thought about the games, can be found at Chron.com.
Tags: Beijing Olympics, Olympics, Yao Ming
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