The Australian Beijing correspondent Rowan Callick, has a good article on what he calls the ‘ghost games’.

He says the government is trying to persuade its citizens to stay home and watch the games on television. Part of the excitement however of watching a sporting event is being able to share the experience with other people.

He gives further examples of Olympic shutdowns:

- bars and nightclubs to close at 2 a.m.
- open air restaurants and bars have to close
- foreigners doing business in China have had to leave
- conferences cancelled
- some churches have had to close
- an orphanage had to move