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29th February 2008

Nightclub area in Beijing to be closed for the Olympics - Hooters to stay open

Several nightclubs and restaurants located in the Workers Stadium area are to be closed while the Beijing Olympics are on.

Mix, Vics and the popular pizza restaurant Kro’s nest are amongst some of the places to be closed. Since the places are located just outside of an Olympic Stadium, the closure is not to much of a surprise, but it is surely to be disappointing for owners operating in the area who will miss one of the biggest influx of potential customers in Beijing’s history.

“More than 130 employees in my restaurant will be out of work during the suspension. If they don’t return after the Games, I will have to hire new hands and start over again,” said Zhang Youjing, manager of Youjingge Restaurant.

“The suspension during the Olympics would definitely hurt our profits, but I believe we can withstand that cost,” said Guo owner of the nightclub Mix.

Fortunately for fans of the US operated Hooters will remain open throughout the Olympics.

Hooters Beijing

Beijing’s new airport terminal opens

Beijing new massive terminal 3 opens today crossing off another major milestone in Beijing’s preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Here are some statistics on the new airport:

- built at a cost of around $2.8 billion

- built by 50,000 workers over a period of 4 years

- capacity increased from 35 million to 85 million passengers making it one of the world’s five busiest airports

- 20 per cent bigger than all five terminals combined at London’s Heathrow Airport

- designed by British architect Lord Norman Foster

- will be able to handle the new Airbus A380 superjumbo jets

- the terminal covers 10.6 million square feet. The Pentagon in comparison is 6.5 million square feet

Beijing Airport Terminal 3

Australian swimming champion to pull out of the Olympics

Australian triple gold medallist Jodie Henry won’t be competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She is suffering from a pelvic injury that will prevent her from competing in the Olympic trials to be held in Sydney next month.

“Basically it’s an imbalance in my muscles around my pelvic area which means that every time I swim or do any sort of aerobic exercise I get pain,” said Jodie Henry.

Even though she won’t be competing in the Olympics, she still plans to compete in the sport.

“It’s a little bit hard to train when you’re curled up in pain. I am pleased because now that my injury has been finally diagnosed I can start on the road to recovery.”

Read more: Henry drops out of Beijing Olympics

28th February 2008

British director Daryl Goodrich’s vision for the Beijing Olympics

British director Daryl Goodrich was one of five international directors who created a short film on the Beijing Olympics.

His short movie is titled, “The Faith of Beijing” where he got the inspiration from a magazine article written in China 100 years ago.

“The article expresses three questions: when will China send an athlete to the Olympic Games; When will China send a team to Olympic Games; when will China hold Olympics? Now all the questions have been answered,” said Daryl Goodrich.

The other directors include Giuseppe Tornatore from Italy, Majid Majidi from Iran, Patrice Leconte of France and Andrew Lau Wai Keung from Hong Kong.

27th February 2008

Everyday an Olympic day for Chinese taekwando star

For Wu Jingyu every day is a an “Olympic day”.

“I regard every day as the Olympic day. I trained very hard since last year and I felt like competing in the Olympics everyday,” said Wu Jingyu.

She won a gold medal in women’s 49 kilogram class in a warm-up event for the Beijing Olympics.

“I am trying to do everything right everyday, then when Olympic comes, I will not feel panic. If I just waste time everyday now, then everything will be going wrong in my Olympic debut.”

Read more: Taekwondo gold hopeful Wu regards every day as “Olympic day”

26th February 2008

Sex scandal rocks the Beijing Olympics 1 reply

Where would a major event like the Olympics be without a sex scandal hitting the headlines?

The scandal started when singer-actor Edison Chen from Hong Kong took his pink MacBook laptop in for repair. He had stored nude photos of him and twins singer Gillian Chung and several other Hong Kong celebrities. The images proved too much of a temptation for the computer technician to upload to the internet.

Gillian Chung has now been banned from singing at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

The computer technician has been charged with using a computer for “dishonest intent” and has made a series of court appearances.

“The lives of many innocent people have been affected by this malicious and criminal conduct, and in this regard I am filled with pain, hurt and frustration,” Chen said in a video statement.

“I hereby use this opportunity to apologise to anyone who has been affected by this strange, strange ordeal.

Beijing olympics sex scandal

Trouble finding accommodation for Olympic - stay in Tianjin 1 reply

An article in the New York Times on accommodation and tickets for the Beijing Olympics says, “Unlike the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, a city easily accessible from Milan by high-speed train, Beijing isn’t easily reached from other cities that could serve as an alternate base.”

Well what about Tianjin as an alternative base to Beijing? Tianjin is 115 kilometers south of Beijing. Train travel from Tianjin to Beijing currently takes around 70 minutes, but a new high speed bullet train is under construction and is due for completion for the Beijing Olympics in August.

The new high speed train will be able to carry 600 passengers and the trip will take just 30 minutes. If you are staying in the Chaoyang district where many hotels are located in Beijing, it can easily take more than an hour in a taxi to reach the main stadium located in the north of Beijing. By staying in a hotel near the station, Tianjin could be a good alternative to paying a small fortune for a weeks accommodation in central Beijing. A one-way trip on the train costs around 42 yuan or US$5.43.

Tianjin will also be hosting some Olympic football matches.

Here is link to a list of hotels in Tianjin where you can book online.

China women’s football team still on target for a medal

Despite losing to Japan 3-0, China is still hopeful their women’s soccer team will win a medal at the Beijing Olympics.

“I’m still very confident of our target in the Olympic Games,” China’s coach Elisabeth Loisel said after the defeat, which left the squad in third place with a win, a draw and a loss in the four-nation round-robin, won by undefeated Japan.

“I’m not very sure that within six months we can solve all the problems,” said the Frenchwoman, who took the job after China lost 1-0 to traditional powerhouse Norway in the World Cup quarter-finals at home last September.

“But I think we’re going to find a better solution in our defence line.”

Read more: China women’s soccer coach still hopes for Olympic medal after East Asia loss

24th February 2008

Rebecca Romero hoping to win medals in two different sports

Rebecca Romero is hoping to become only the second woman in Olympic history to win medals in two different sports.

She won a silver medal in the quadruple sculls in Athens and has now turned to cycling.

She recently won the 3000 meter cycling World Cup in Copenhagen.

Romero said: “It was my first gold medal as a cyclist after a number of silvers.

“It is a long time since I was on top of a podium standing there for the national anthem and it was a fabulous feeling.”

Read more: Local girl aims for two Olympic medals in two sports

13-year old diving prodigy Tom Daley wins bronze

Tom Daley from Britain, who is just 13 years old won a bronze medal in the synchronised 10 meter platform at a World Cup meeting currently being held in Beijing, securing a place in the diving for Britain in the process.

Their own spots in the team are still undecided as they face a national selection in June.

His partner in the event is Blake Aldridge is 25 years old.

“We dived really well and I just can’t believe we won a medal as well as qualifying Britain for the Olympics,” said Daley last night. “It’s been an absolute rollercoaster of a ride.

“We didn’t dive at all well this morning and at one stage looked like we might not make it. We eventually finished ninth, made the final and then came away with a bronze. It’s totally amazing.”

Read more: Diving: Britain heading to Olympics thanks to 13-year-old Daley


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