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Venue: National Aquatics Center;
Location: Olympic Green;
Total land surface (sq. m.): 65,000-80,000;
Seats: 6,000 permanent and 11,000 temporary;
Functions during the Games: Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, and Synchronized Swimming;
Groundbreaking date: Dec. 24, 2003;
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Venue: National Stadium;
Location: Olympic Green;
Total land surface (10,000 sq. m.): 25.8;
Seats: 91,000;
Functions during the Games: Athletics, Football;
Post-Games use: The Stadium is to stage sports events at national and international levels, as well as cultural and entertaining activities;
Groundbreaking date: Dec. 2003;
Designer: Herzog & DeMeuron (Swiss) and China Architecture Design Institute;
Status: Groundwork has been finished. Following work is underway.
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The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) is honored to unveil the medals for the Paralympic Games of 2008.
Leading officials of BOCOG and the China Disabled Persons’ Federation, representative of athletes with a disability and representatives of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic medal sponsor BHP Billiton attended today’s press conference as mock-ups of the medals for the Paralympic Games of 2008 were on display at the Beijing Olympic Media Center.
The design concepts and pattern of the medals for the Paralympic Games of 2008 bear stark resemblance to the medals for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.
The medals for the Paralympic Games not only meet the technical requirements of "Two Games, Equal Splendor" but perfectly capture the pure essence of "One World One Dream."
A jade disc set into the obverse of each Beijing 2008 Paralympic medal … and the emblem of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games is found in the center of the jade disc.
The color of jade varies with the medal, including:
– white jade for the gold medal
– gray-white jade for the silver medal, and
– gray jade for the bronze medal
The design of the medal hook originates from jade "huang" a ceremonial jade piece decorated with a double dragon pattern and "Pu," a reed mat pattern. On the reverse side is the emblem of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the name of the event and "Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games" in Chinese, English and Braille.
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The materials, weight, measurements and pattern of the medals for the Paralympic Games of 2008 have followed all guidelines of and met the approval of the IPC. The gold and silver medals are made with a base of pure silver and the gold medal is plated with no less than six grams of pure gold.
Each medal will have a jade disc set into the surface.
This design fully meets the requirements of the IPC and the design concept and patterns echo those of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, reflecting fairness and mutual respect for all people. Both the Olympic and Paralympic medals equally reflect the global concept of "One World One Dream."
The IPC has given its stamp of approval to the design of these medals for Paralympic Games of 2008. In its letter of approval, the IPC relayed a congratulatory message regarding the design program for the medals.
Extensive research and planning for the medal design for the Paralympic Games of 2008 began in November 2006. An analysis of the experiences from previous Paralympic Games led to the formulation of the concepts, requirements, creation methods and development for the Beijing Paralympics medals.
Using the successful designs for the Beijing Olympic Games as their template, specific designers were invited to create the "look" and "feel" of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic medals, including designers from:
– the
– the
–
All of the designers had originally submitted entries in the original campaign for the Beijing Olympic Games medals.
On December 7, 2006, an explanatory meeting was held to launch the design of the medals. Through December 31, 2006, the aforesaid organizations submitted a total of 21, two-dimensional designs. On January 9, 2007, at the invitation of BOCOG, leading Chinese experts and scholars from the arts, sculpture, minting and Paralympic sports made the appraisal on the 21 works, following the design requirements.
BOCOG then asked the relevant organizations to make modifications and improvements to the designs. Then, on October 11, 2007, BOCOG and the IPC approved the final design.
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| National Stadium (NST) |
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| National Aquatics Center (NAC) |
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| National Indoor Stadium (NIS) |
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| Beijing Shooting Range Hall (BSH) |
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| Wukesong Indoor Stadium (WIS) |
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| Laoshan Velodrome (LSV) |
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| Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park (SRC) |
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| China Agricultural University Gymnasium (CAG) |
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| Peking University Gymnasium (PKG) |
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| University of Science and Technology Beijing Gymnasium |
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| Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium (BTG) |
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| Tennis Center, Olympic Green |
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| Olympic Sports Center Stadium (OSS) |
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| Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium (OSG) |
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| Workers’ Stadium (WST) |
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| Workers’ Indoor Arena (WIA) |
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| Capital Indoor Stadium (CAS) |
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| Fengtai Softball Field |
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| Ying Tung Natatorium (YTN) |
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| Laoshan Mountain Bike Course (LSC) |
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| Beijing Shooting Range Clay Target Field (BSF) |
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| Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium |
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| Beihang University Gymnasium |
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| Fencing Hall (FCH) |
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| Hockey Field, Olympic Green |
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| Archery Field, Olympic Green |
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| Wukesong Baseball Field |
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| Beach Volleyball Ground |
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| BMX Venue |
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| Triathlon Venue (TRV) |
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| Urban Cycling Road Course (CRC) |
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The winning families of the "Olympic Families Tour Beijing" contest tour the Forbidden City in Beijing on August 8, 2007.
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Some 10,000 residents of
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Liu Qi among long walkers
Donned in shirts of the Olympic colors, the walkers, including students, farmers, and blue and white-collar workers, formed an armada that looked like a beautiful rainbow over the reservoir or a long dragon winding its way through the mountain in the area.
They passed through the so-called peace, hope, health, harmony and triumph "avenues" and were happily rewarded with a symbolic apple, which is a local product, a certificate, and a ticket to the scenic spots of Changping District, where the walk took place.
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Drumming for walkers
Among the walkers were Liu Qi, BOCOG president and secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Hu Chunhua, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Youth League, and many other leading officials of the
Organized by
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BOCOG staff members join in the long walk
It is less than a year until the Beijing Olympics of 8-24 August 2008. With their approach, criticism of China in the international news media is on the increase. Three events on successive days indicate a rising level of engagement that seeks to link the event with human-rights concerns.
On 6 August 2007, the information office of the Chinese government’s state council held a press conference on the preparations for the games. Almost all the questions asked by foreign journalists had political undertones. The first was from an Agencia Efe journalist, who asked about Steven Spielberg’s announcement that unless China changed its policies on Darfur, the war-torn region of western Sudan, he would cease cooperating with the Beijing Olympic Committee over preparations for the closing ceremony.
On 7 August, the New York-based group Reporters Without Borders released a Chinese-language report in Beijing called "Broken Promises: Restrictions on Chinese Press Freedom in the Run-Up to the 2008 Olympics" (the coverage of this report has itself been blocked by the Chinese authorities). The report says that strict limits remain in place on the local media, though restrictions on foreign journalists have been relaxed; it finds that at least twenty-nine Chinese news-workers are currently imprisoned, and that attacks on and harassment of them continue, with impunity for the perpetrators.
On 8 August, a group of forty well-known Chinese scholars and liberal intellectuals published an open letter to Chinese and world leaders referring to the Beijing Olympic slogan, "One world, one dream". The true basis of the slogan should be "one standard of human rights", the signatories said:
"We see, hear and even personally experience the snuffing out of press freedom and freedom of expression, the persecution of human rights defenders, the wilful trampling of international standards of human rights, and the unscrupulous violation of the rights of the poor and the weak. We even see government officials and departments abusing human rights in the name of the Olympics."
The letter - which echoes earlier such initiatives, and whose full text can be found here - concluded by recommending eight steps for improving human rights in China, including "releasing prisoners of conscience from jail".
A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry claimed that certain forces in the west were attempting to politicise the Olympics, which, he said, went against the basic principle that the games should be apolitical.
The politics of sport
It seems that the games do in fact have different political implications depending on the host country. When they are held in places like Atlanta or Sydney, the games are seen as a sports extravaganza - one big party for athletes and fans alike. But when they are held in places like Tokyo (1964), Seoul (1988), or today’s Beijing, no one can ignore the huge political implications. People remember how the Tokyo Olympics gave a massive boost to Japan’s post-war economy, and helped Japan to regain a place among the world’s important nations. Similarly, the Seoul event succeeded in encouraging Korea’s transition from a military dictatorship to a modern democratic nation. But China is similar to neither Japan nor Korea. It is simply too big.
In fact, the Chinese government’s determination to host an Olympic games has always been founded on political factors. Following the armed suppression of the Tiananmen pro-democracy protests in 1989, China was alienated from the international community, and at home the regime’s legitimacy was shaken. The Chinese government desperately needed to improve its international image. In 1990, Deng Xiaoping announced that "China will apply to host the Olympics". A successful application would go a long way to boosting national pride, and would heal a lot of the damage done to the regime. (Also, 2000 was the year of the dragon, which in Chinese culture is thought to be a year of success and achievement). However, when the application was made in 1993, the sounds of the gunshots in Beijing were still ringing in people’s ears. China was also not as powerful then as it is now. It was entirely predictable that the bid failed.
Eight years later, China was more powerful, and the international community was less able to ignore such an enormous market. Investment flooded in, and historical memories faded. In these circumstances, the success of China’s 2001 bid was also predictable.
When the western democratic countries, and democratic forces within China, saw that Beijing would be hosting such a huge international sporting event, they hoped that it would encourage political change in China. After all, China would be in the international spotlight for some years, and this should force China to be more open, and act according to internationally recognised standards. However, these hopes now look overly optimistic.
The long-term contest
China certainly has the ability to host the Olympics. The country is more powerful than for many years, and already has the experience of hosting large sporting events. The Olympics will not be a financial burden on China as they were for a small country like Greece in 2004. Moreover, the public has been marinating in nationalism for over a decade now, and the Olympics can satisfy many of its demands for international recognition. For this reason, there will not be any large-scale political protests, and a few intellectuals asking for improvements in human rights will not have any real impact.
For its part, the International Olympic Committee is concerned only to have a smoothly run Olympics and make a financial profit, so it has no reason to pick a political fight with the host nation. Unless an important country like the United States boycotts the Beijing Olympics (the likelihood of which is tiny), the Chinese government will not feel any need to give way on domestic political issues.
In conclusion, the Beijing Olympics will not produce the important political reforms that many people are hoping for. Real change requires consolidation of the position of domestic reformers, and a wider public recognition of human rights. These will need another twenty or thirty years - in effect, a generation - to realise. But if we take into account 2,000 years of autocratic tradition in China, and think of the changes that have already taken place in the last thirty years, then this is probably not an unreasonable amount of time to wait.
 Effect model of the Olympic Sports Center Stadium |
Venue: Olympic Sports Center Stadium
Location: Southern part of Olympic Sports Center
Seats: 40,000
Functions during the Games: Football, Modern Pentathlon (running and equestrian)
 Effect model of the Olympic Sports Center Stadium |
 Effect model of the Olympic Sports Center Stadium |
 Effect model of the Olympic Sports Center Stadium |
 Effect model of the Olympic Sports Center Stadium |
 Stand of the Stadium |
 Stand of the Stadium |
 A panorama of the Stadium |
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