BOCOG has released its rules for spectators and what they can bring into Olympic venues.

I know you need to have rules, but not sure why you need to specifically say “no corrosive chemicals and radioactive materials”.

In Athens umbrellas were banned, but Chinese ladies like to use their umbrellas to keep the sun off, so they will be allowed in Beijing.

“In foreign countries people like to sunbathe, but in Beijing we prefer to avoid the sunlight,” Huang Keying, deputy director of spectator services division at the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG), told a news conference. “So we will allow people to bring collapsible umbrellas as long as they don’t put them up in the stands.”

Here is the full list:

- hard-packed drink and food (not sure what they mean by hard packed?)
- fragile articles
- musical instruments
- carry-on bags
- suitcases
- handbags which are too big to carry to the seats
- flags of countries and regions not participating either in the Beijing Olympic Games or Paralympic Games
- flags over two meters in length or over one meter in width
- flag poles of over one meter in length
- banners, leaflets, or posters
- unauthorized professional videotaping equipments
- knives, bats, long-handle umbrellas, long poles, sharp-ended stands for cameras and video cameras
- other objects that may cause harm and injury to people
- animals (with the exception of guide dogs)
- vehicles (except for strollers and wheelchairs)
- unauthorized walky-talkies, loudspeakers, radios, laser devices or wireless devices that interfere with the electronic signals of the Olympic Games.
-weapons and equipment including guns
- ammunition, crossbows, and daggers
- fireworks, firecrackers and other flammable materials
- corrosive chemicals and radioactive materials