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19th October 2007
Beijing Olympics budget increase
The cost of hosting the 2008 Beijing Olympics has risen from initial estimates of $1.6 billion to $2 billion. It is still lower than the cost of hosting Athen’s games - $2.4 billion.
Beijing’s Vice-Mayor Liu Jingmin said the rise in the yuan and increased security costs were to blame.
“Security is one of the most important things in the preparation of the Olympics. The security work is proceeding smoothly and we are absolutely confident that the 2008 Olympics will be safe and secure,” Liu said.
It seems difficult to see how a rise in the yuan would cause an increase in the budget. If products are sourced locally there shouldn’t be any difference. Imported materials should actually be cheaper.
Read more: Rising Yuan, Security Up Beijing’s Olympics Budget
18th October 2007
Flag lowering ceremony in Tiananmen Square
A ceremony is held everyday at dawn to raise the flag and lower it in the evening in Tiananmen Square. What is probably more interesting is seeing the large crowd of Chinese the ceremony draws to witness the event.
Some pictures of Tiananmen Square in the early evening:
See future Chinese Olympic champions in action
If you are looking to see something different Beijing other than main sites like Forbidden City and the Great Wall, one very interesting place to go to is the Shichahai Sports School. The Shichahai Sports School is China’s training ground for present and future Olympic stars. Daily tours are available Monday to Friday, from 3 p.m.
The school was established in 1958 and is located just north of the Forbidden City. Taekwondo, boxing, badminton, wushu, shanshou, table tennis, gymnastics and volleyball teams train at the school.
The school has trained Teng Haibin, Ma Yanhong in gymnastics, Zhan Yining in table tennis and Luo Wei gold medalist in Athens in taekwando.
The school now has around 500 students. The young gymnasts aged from around 6 years of age are most impressive. I saw a young boy who is around 2.2 meters tall who looks sure to be a volleyball champion if he doesn’t start playing basketball! The school also accepts foreign students for varying periods of time from two weeks to six months.
The tour costs 50 RMB and goes for aroun 1.5 hours.
Address: No.57 Dianmen West Street, Xicheng Disrict, Beijing
Website: sch.bjedu.gov.cn/english/home.htm
Phone: 86-10-661-80791
Email: [email protected]
Qatar beats Japan 2-1
Qatar beat Japan 2-1 in a qualifying game for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Siddiq and Hassan Al Haydos scored for Qatar and Noaki Aoyama scored for Japan.
Qatar and Japan now each have seven points and are in group C.
Syria drew with South Korea 0-0 in another qualifier South Korea leads group B with 10 points.
Read more: Qatar beats Japan 2-1 in Olympic qualifier
Syria holds South Korea 0-0 in Olympic qualifier
Donny Robinson favorite for gold in BMX
Donny Robinson from the US is looking to do for BMX what Shaun White did for snow boarding in the 2006 Winter Games in Turin.
The IOC decided to include BMX in the Beijing Olympics for the first time in the hope of attracting a new younger audience.
“We believe that this introduction will definitely enhance the Olympic program,” IOC president Jacques Rogge said back in June 2003 when it was announced BMX would be part of the upcoming Summer Games.
Read more: Robinson looks to make big splash in BMX Olympic debut
17th October 2007
Hackett facing 10km test
Grant Hackett is testing the 10km swimming event this Sunday in preparation for the Beijing Olympics. He is also looking to win gold for the third time in the 1500 meters.
“I need to do one of these 10km events before the Australian Championships and I am really excited to race on Sunday, really looking forward to the experience actually,” Hackett said.
“I will still work just as hard in the pool and gym this week and won’t be interrupting my normal training routine but this event is something different and that’s great at this stage of my career,”
Further reading: Hackett’s 10km Olympic hopes face test
Beijing Olympic Village Pictures
The Beijing Olympic Village is currently being built and is located in the Olympic Green area, north of the Beijing National Stadium. The Olympic Village will have 360,000 square meters of apartments for the athletes, coaches and team officials. After the Olympics the apartments will be sold as private apartments.
16th October 2007
Beijing Olympic Inspired Gadgets 1 reply
Businesses all over China are looking to cash in on the marketing bonanza of the Beijing Olympics. They are associating anything and everything with the games - official or otherwise. Here is a collection of Beijing Olympic inspired computer accessories, most of which are unlicensed products, found on the Chinese auction site Tabao.
More Olympic rings.
Beijing Olympic emblem webcams.
This cute toy is actually a webcam.
Computer manufacturer Lenevo are producing the few licensed Olympic products.
More video of the new Beijing Olympic stadiums
This video shows some of the older apartments near the National Stadium. The swimming center next to the stadium is looking fantastic. You can also see the new fencing hall and the Olympic Village which is not too far off from completion. The whole area around the new stadiums will be a huge park, although it will be some time before this is complete.
National Swimming Center 1 reply
The National Swimming Center located alongside the Beijing National Stadium is set to become a landmark building in Beijing. The stadium will host the swiiming, diving, synchronized swimming and water polo. It was designed by Australian architects Architects, PTW and the engineering group, Ove Arup.
The stadium has permanent seating for 6000 people but will hold 11,000 people for the Olympic Games. It is also known as the ‘Water Cube’ for its rectangular shape and bubble like exterior. The building uses solar energy and the water for the pool is continually recycled.
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