Who will light the Olympic cauldron? Apparently not Yao or Liu
Friday, 8th August 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
We're just hours away from finding out the answer to a question that's been asked for months—who will be the final torchbearer, the person who lights the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremonies tonight?China's favorite athletes, basketball star Yao Ming and 110-meter hurdles world champion Liu Xiang, seem like logical choices. But according to China Daily, Olympic tradition has set a precedent of each person only carrying the flame one time. Yao carried the torch in Beijing Wednesday, and Liu carried it when the relay began on March 31.
So if not Liu or Yao, then who? We don't have interns to research all the athletes who haven't carried the torch, so my guess is going to be pretty uneducated. But here it is: Yao was actually the original choice to light the cauldron, but after the Sichuan earthquake rocked the country in May, the powers that be have changed plans. The torch will be lit by someone from Sichuan, who embodies hope for that region and for China.
Another possibility that I'd love to see is one of the many people who worked so hard in anonymity to build the mammoth Olympic structures that China is so proud of and that have become one of the most prominent symbols of these games.
Of course, China could show how modern it is by breaking with tradition. Or maybe someone knows a really dexterous panda.
Tags: Beijing Olympics, Liu Xiang, Olympics, opening ceremonies, Sichuan earthquake, torch relay, Yao Ming
Olympic Broadcasters Get Tiananmen Rights
Friday, 20th June 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (3)
TV networks with Olympic broadcasting rights seem to have re-secured the right to broadcast live from Tiananmen Square. According to Canada's CBC News, broadcasters held two days of negotiations with BOCOG officials late last month. NBC is declining comment on the story.
Aside from this news, it's been a somewhat rocky period of late for BOCOG's international media relations. Here are some of the things that are frustrating the foreign press here to cover Olympic preparations:
Foreign broadcasters say they are facing more red tape than at previous games, making it difficult for them to get their equipment into the country and begin logistical set-up.
Non-Chinese journalists are saying they were only allowed limited viewing of the actual torch relay in Xinjiang this week. BBC correspondent James Reynolds' blog includes some observations on the relay in Urumqi (Xinjiang's capital), as well as some background on the historical issues in the region. A few foreign journalists have been invited to watch the relay in Lhasa Saturday.
More Beijing-based journalists are complaining about the lack of access they have had to Chinese athletes. Instead of meeting athletes, they are touring venues and watching "mei nu" practice presenting medals.
Tags: BOCOG, foreign media, torch relay
BOCOG Wants You to Know
Tuesday, 17th June 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
A favorite template of the BOCOG online photo gallery: Bureaucrat, surrounded by fascinated guys in uniform, pointing.
Call us party poopers, but we at China Sports Today don't get very excited about most of the news that comes out of BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad). There's just so much interesting actual sports news in China, that praise of Olympic venues and statistics about how huge these games are sort of fade into the background.
But there's actually some mildly interesting stuff there, so here's a roundup of the recent BOCOG chatter:
Banned: A couple of weeks ago, BOCOG published a list of legal guidelines for foreigners coming to the games. At least originally, it was only published in Chinese. But it was translated by plenty of media outlets right away. This sentence from Danwei sums it up well:
"So it's pretty clear: No hookers, pimps, dealers, terrorists, activists, revolutionaries, missionaries, demonstrators, pornographers, gun nuts, maniacs, sufferers of mental diseases, carriers of infectious diseases, poisonous snake collectors, beggars or drunkards."
Planned spontaneity:
Image: People.com's illustrated guide to the cheer.
Ever green: BOCOG says its efforts to improve environmental issues in Beijing have aims beyond the Olympics. Here's hoping.
Neighborhood watch: The catchphrase "People's Olympics, green Olympics, high-tech Olympics," was adopted early on by BOCOG to express three things the committee wants these games to be remembered for. "Safe Olympics" hasn't been officially added to that list, but the words have certainly been used a lot recently. There's this release about Beijingers' responsibility to keep their neighborhoods safe. Then there's this Xinhua story, which looks distinctively like a BOCOG press release, about the breaking news that a Communist Party Central Committee member cares about security at the games.
Operator: The Olympic Call Center will launch July 1 to answer questions in "many languages" about Olympic match schedules, venues, tickets and cultural activities.
Relay reroute: The torch relay route has changed. Instead of going through Tibet and Qinghai as scheduled, it is headed to Xinjiang Autonomous Region this week. BOCOG has released news about the Xinjiang leg, but has not mentioned the Tibet/Qinghai leg, nor addressed whether the torch will pass through the region at a later date.
UPDATE: The torch will make an abbreviated one-day stop in Lhasa Saturday June 21.
Image: BOCOG
Tags: BOCOG, environment, security, torch relay
Torch Relay Pauses for National Mourning
Monday, 19th May 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The torch relay team is currently in a holding pattern in and around Shanghai. The BOCOG Web site confirms that the relay is suspended, but offers no information about how the route will change. The Olympic flame is scheduled to arrive in Sichuan on June 15.
After its protest-heavy travels abroad, the Olympic flame within China has served as a reminder that aid is sorely needed for rescue and recovery efforts. Photographs of torchbearers leaving donations are ubiquitous in the Chinese press.
Among early reports on the relay's suspension in the mainstream media, this AP report that ran on the Sports Illustrated Web site is one of the most informative.
The three days of mourning began with three minutes of "silence" today at 2:28 p.m., exactly one week after the quake hit. The minutes of silence actually turned out to be three minutes of air-raid sirens and honking car horns in many cities, as the country cried together over the quake's devastation. How the three days of mourning will actually work remains uncertain; bars in some cities were forced to close at 11:00 on Monday night. This Shanghaiist post translates the relevant announcement from Anhui city in Hefei province, explaining how businesses are expected to observe the mourning period.
If you are looking to contribute to earthquake relief but unsure where to start, here is a guide to giving from GoKunming.
Image: Xinhua
Tags: Olympics, torch relay, Wenchuan earthquake
"Defend"
Wednesday, 9th April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (1)
We here at China Sports Today don't really think the Olympic Torch Relay has much to do with sports. But among the myriad stories about the challenges that the event has faced since it started in Greece two weeks ago, we've found some interesting perspectives to share with you.First, a look at the front page of today's Titan Sports Beijing 2008 Special Issue:
Next, from Telegraph.co.uk, some thoughts from British badminton player Richard Vaughan, who knows more about China than most of the non-Chinese competitors in the coming games.
Finally, from the Associated Press, a closer look at those guys in the blue track suits running with the flame.
Tags: Olympics, torch relay
Another Countdown Begins
Tuesday, 25th March 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Despite tight security, disruptions occurred during BOCOG president Liu Qi's speech and during the run of the first torchbearer, Alexandros Nikolaidis. Nikolaidis handed off to Luo Xuejuan, an Olympic swimmer and the first Chinese national to carry the flame.
Image: BOCOG
Tags: BOCOG, IOC, torch relay