Beijing Countdown: 500 Days

Beijing - March 27, 2007

(BOCOG News) -- With the 2008 Olympic Games exactly 500 days away, China's preparations are going smoothly as planned, but challenges still remain over issues such as pollution and traffic congestion.

Construction work is well underway on 37 Olympic beijing venues, 31 in Beijing including the National Stadium, known as the "Bird's Nest" because of its giant latticework of metal girders, and many are near completion to host more than 40 test events, 26 set for this summer.

Despite a rising budget, mainly due to the increased expenditure on security and health, Beijing's financial goals are also being met with revenue from the Games expected to exceed original targets.

"We are absolutely confident that the Beijing Olympics will make profits," said Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee (BOCOG), during an interview with Xinhua on the eve of the 500-day countdown.

"And the money will go to establishing a foundation to help sport projects in developing countries," he added.

BOCOG has said the operational cost of the 2008 Games would not exceed that of Athens 2004 -- around 2.4 billion US dollars.

Praise was heaped on the Beijing organizers' overall competence,especially for the quality of the venues.

During his visit to Beijing last October, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge described the venues here as "the best I have ever seen" but warned that perfect infrastructure was not enough to guarantee a successful Games.

"We should all remember that the Games are not judged solely by the technical proficiency of the project, but also through the perception that the world has of the Games," said Rogge.

"We must therefore ensure that while all the technical elements are in place, that we do not forget to look after the less tangible elements that will ultimately shape the world's image of China and the Beijing Games."

Poor air quality and traffic jams are the major concerns, although a lot of efforts have been made to tackle these problems.

"The air is not good enough yet," IOC vice president Gunilla Lindberg said last week during her visit to the Chinese capital. "And the traffic just now is terrible."

Liu Qi admitted that there is a gap between Beijing and some very clean and tidy cities, but he said he was confident that "during the time of the competition we can provide a good environment for all the athletes."

After China won the Olympic bid, it promised to make Beijing an "ecological city" with "green hills, clear water, grass-covered ground, and blue sky".

Since then the city has spent 100 billion yuan (12.5 billion US dollars) on planting trees and curbing polluting industries, according to the State Environmental Protection Administration of China.

Heavy polluters like the Capital Iron and Steel Group were moved out of the capital and 200 small and medium-sized firms had been shut down. The city has also phased out over 30,000 old taxies and 3,900 old diesel-powered buses that do not meet environmental standards.

Traffic will also be remedied by special Olympic lanes and advanced public transport, said Liu.

To the Chinese organizers, what may be more tricky than bad traffic and pollution is how to improve people's civility.

The Olympic Games has been widely regarded as an opportunity to showcase China to the world. However, worries have been building that uncivilized behavior like queue-jumping and spitting in public could take the gloss off that image.

"Bad manners were a significant threat to the success of the Olympics," said He Zhenliang, China's senior IOC member.

The city government has already launched a "smile" campaign and etiquette courses are being offered to teach shopkeepers and other service industry workers such as taxi drivers how to be more polite and welcoming to foreigners.

The authorities have also designated the 11th day of each month as "Queue-up Day", when residents are expected to pay special attention to not pushing in line.

"People's civility is improving and we hope to show that China is a country rich in history and civilization in 2008," said Liu Qi.


To mark the occasion of the 500-day countdown, the Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) unveiled the Beijing Olympic Games medals.

And in Hong Kong, a countdown clock to the opening of the 2008 Olympic Games was inaugurated.


BEIJING 2008 - One World One Dream

The Games of the XXIX Olympiad will be celebrated August 8-24, 2008 in Beijing, and the Paralympic Games 12 days later (September 6-17, 2008).

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