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Olympics Hot Sheet - April 20, 2005

1) Beijing Wants to Move Equestrian Events - Source: CRI News - April 15, 2005:

Beijing organizers want to move equestrian events at the 2008 Olympics to Hong Kong, about 2,000 kilometers from the host city.

The organizers submitted the proposal to the International Equestrian Federation, citing the risk of equine diseases and problems with quarantine regulations in the capital city.
The international federation, known as FEI, opposes relocation. The issue will come up before the International Olympic Committee executive board in Berlin next week.

However, Hong Kong Olympic chief Timothy Fok said Hong Kong was willing to host the event. The proposed venue for the Olympic equestrian competition is the Sha Tin racecourse and surrounding Penfold Park.

The equestrian events have been scheduled for the Beijing Country Equestrian Park in northern Beijing, 35 kilometers from the Olympic Village.

When Melbourne hosted the 1956 Olympics, equestrian events were held in Sweden because of quarantine restrictions in Australia.

2) Athens Olympic security officials, BOCOG hold exchange - People's Daily Online - April 14, 2005:

As invited by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG), three security officials of Athens Olympic Games have had three-day exchanges with BOCOG since April 11.

The group was composed of Vassilios Konstantinidis, director of security division of Athens Games and deputy directors Sotirios Tsenes and Konstantinos Kasapakis.

Li Binghua, vice executive president of BOCOG attended the exchange on Olympic security system and organization setup. The experts and BOCOG also held discussions on eight topics including Olympic security commanding, organization setup and budget, equipment, traffic management, guard for VIPs, assessment on security risk of Olympic venues.

It was the first time for Beijing and Athens to hold exchanges on Olympic security. Experts and BOCOG also set on a mechanism for further exchange.

3) Beijing to add 6,200 new hotel rooms by 2008 - AFX Asia - April 5, 2005:

Hotel consultancy firm Jones Lang Lasalle Hotels said it expects 6,200 new rooms to be added to Beijing's hotel market in the run-up to the Olympics, which the capital will host in 2008. The focus of expansion will be in the upper tier segment with projects such as the 256-room Ritz Carlton Beijing, the 500-room Westin Beijing and the 334-room Four Seasons Beijing in the pipeline, Jones Lang said in a statement. The majority of the room supply is expected to be added in 2006 with 50 pct of new rooms forecast during the year followed by another 30.6 pct in 2007, the consultancy firm said. Beijing's hotel market is likely to soften in the year after the Olympics, Jones Lang added. "We expect Beijing's hotel market to experience an Olympic spike in rates during 2008, before performance softens in 2009," the statement said.

4) BOCOG launches Olympic sponsorship program – People’s Daily Online - March 31, 2005:

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG) launched on Thursday its campaign to seek sponsors for the games.

"As our work of seeking partners nearly came to a successful close, we are entering the second phrase of Olympic marketing program," Yuan Bin, director of BOCOG's marketing department, told a press conference.

BOCOG's marketing plan includes partnership, sponsorship and licensing programs. Partnership and sponsorships grant enterprises four-year exclusive marketing and promotion rights, while the licensing program authorizes companies to produce and sell products with the official Olympic logo only after paying royalties to BOCOG.

To date, BOCOG has signed seven partners for the 2008 Games. They are German automobile giant Volkswagen, Sinopec, Bank of China, China Mobile, China Netcom, sportswear manufacturer Adidas and Air China.

Yuan said that several enterprises are in talks with BOCOG over the possibility of cooperation.

"We are likely to sign one or two partners in the near future,” she said. "But sponsorship program is the focus of our work from now on."

Yuan refused to reveal the amount of money companies should pay if they want to join the Olympic sponsorship program, only saying it will be much less than that for an Olympic partner. Insiders say that a partnership deal could be worth 50 million US dollars.

White goods, office supply, logistics, tire, tourism service are listed as the categories in which potential Olympic sponsors come from.

5) Beijing to upgrade first-aid system for 2008 Olympics – People’s Daily Online April 6, 2005:

China's capital is planning to overhaul its emergency medical services for the Olympics it will host in 2008.

According to sources at a Sino-French first-aid forum held last Sunday, Beijing will spend 400 million US dollars on upgrading its medical infrastructure and renewing its medical equipment between now and 2008. Emergency service outlets will be arranged in 132 communities in the nation's capital, the sources said.

Beijing Emergency Medical Center will serve as the core of the first-aid provision and command system. To perform the function, the center will add 400 new ambulances to its first-aid vehicle fleet and begin to provide helicopter-based emergency medical services, center officials announced.

Sporting venues, major media centers and the 2008 Olympic Village will be fitted with medical equipment, which can be used round-the-clock and for emergency service. Meanwhile, a special mechanism will be built to conveniently transfer sick and injured athletes abroad, sources at the forum said.

6) Capital to have advanced first-aid system - China Daily April 6, 2005:

Beijing will have a first-class first-aid system in place for the 2008 Olympic Games with the promise that no one will have to wait more than five minutes for an ambulance.

So said Jin Dapeng, director of the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau (BMHB).

He was speaking at the Sino-French Medical Emergency and Disaster Forum held on Monday and yesterday.

The capital plans to set up first-aid stations in all 132 urban communities and add 22 in the suburbs, Jin said.

The public will be able to dial 120; the telephone number for the emergency services, and an ambulance with doctors on board will arrive in no more than five minutes.

Organized by the BMHB and the French Embassy, the forum is aimed at helping Beijing develop and perfect the first-aid medical network system.

It wants the city to satisfy the requirements for medical emergency services during the Olympics.

"The forum aims to help Beijing strengthen construction of the public health system, establish and perfect the emergency system, and consolidate the functions of such a large international city," Jin stressed.

This year, Beijing will spend US$400 million on updating and extending its current medical facilities.

All of the medical rescue network will be used to support the 2008 Olympic Games' medical emergency services. The Beijing Emergency Medical Center will add 400 new ambulances along with air rescue services.

More than 300 officials, experts and doctors in this field from the two countries gathered at the forum to discuss how to help Beijing define its own medical emergency network.

Meanwhile, nine French companies involved in air first aid, ambulances, software, instruments, security systems and ventilators, have been invited to exhibit their products.

On display is a model of the latest French first-aid helicopter.

Since 2002, the BMHB has co-operated with the Health Ministry of France in first aid.

French Total Group, the forum's main sponsor, will provide 1.5 million euros (US$1.93 million) over the next five years to launch the Beijing medical emergency program, in co-operation with the Beijing municipal government, the BMHB and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The long-term program focuses on education, training and the promotion of emergency medicine.

It also includes sending some Beijing first aiders to France for training, research and face-to-face exchanges with their French counterparts.

This helps them understand the advantages of the French first-aid medical system and advanced technologies.

As the largest group in France and one of world's four largest oil and gas companies, Total Group entered China 25 years ago.

"Six Chinese first-aid doctors went to France to be trained for one year in the French emergency medical network in November 2004," said Dr Gerard Deleens, president of Total Petrochemicals.

7) Rogge: no sports will be cut from Summer Olympics – Xinhua – April 19, 2005:

IOC president Jacques Rogge reassured international federations Monday that it's unlikely any sports will be dropped from the Summer Olympics.

The IOC has completed a review of the 28 sports in the Summer Olympics and the five sports hoping to get into the Olympics, which is aimed to consider whether any changes should be made for the program of the 2012 Games.

Some federations fear their sports could be in danger of being cut when the International Olympic Committee assembly finalizes the program in Singapore in July.

"There should be no anxiety," Rogge said after a joint meeting of the IOC executive board and the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations.

"The process will be a totally fair process. Reading the report, I have only one conclusion. We have very strong federations, and strong federations should have nothing to fear."

All sports contested in Athens last August, as well as the five hopefuls -- golf, rugby, squash, karate and roller sports -- have been assessed by the IOC's Program Commission.

The report lists the various sports' strengths and weaknesses but does not recommend whether any sport should remain in or be dropped from the Games program.

Rogge repeatedly has said that no sport will be added unless one is dropped. The last sport eliminated from the Summer Olympics was polo -- in 1936.

In 2002, Rogge proposed that baseball, softball and modern pentathlon be dropped, and golf and rugby added. But IOC members resisted and no vote was taken.

The current review does not apply to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which will feature the same sports as Athens. Any changes would take place for the 2012 Olympics, whose host city will be picked by the IOC on July 6 in Singapore.

Rogge said the IOC will notify the federations in the next week or so what procedure will be used to decide on the sports program in Singapore. Under one proposal, each of the 28 sports would be put to a roll call vote.

Rogge, meanwhile, ruled out raising the number of Olympic sports above the limit of 28. He said the cap was approved by the IOC in 2002 and is enshrined in the Olympic charter and host city contracts.

"We do not want the games to become too big," Rogge said. "If you go above the number of 28, you increase the demands on the organizing committee and cause saturation among the public. The rules are set. There is no way we can change that."

Rogge also dismissed the possibility of moving some summer sports to the Winter Olympics, an idea raised by FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Under IOC rules, only sports practiced on snow or ice are included in the Winter Games.

Rogge said the regulation protects the "identity" of the Winter Olympics. In addition, he said, adding summer sports would force winter organizers to build additional indoor arenas.

8) Chinese official briefs about preparation for 2008 Olympics – Beijing Daily – April 18, 2005:

All competition venues for 2008 Beijing Olympics will be within a 30-minute drive of the Olympic Village, said a Chinese official when briefing Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) about preparation for the event.

The Beijing Olympics will have 36 competition venues, said Vice President Yang Shu'an of Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).

Yang told the delegates that BOCOG has completed the transportation strategic plan, established transport coordination and command mechanism, and begun building a transportation model for the games.

Thirteen of the venues can even be reached in 20 minutes, he said.

At the end of 2003, construction of seven venues for the games started and in 2005, work will begin on the remaining seven new venues while renovation of existing venues will start in 2006.

Other points Yang mentioned include:

-- A security coordination group for security has been set up;

-- Eighty-eight hotels, including 33 five-stars, have signed up, providing 22,962 hotel rooms and 31 villas;

-- Twenty dedicated hospitals have been designated for medical services;

-- Twenty-two international sports federations have visited Beijing.

The ASOIF meeting is part of the annual international sports convention, which began here on Saturday.

It also brings representatives from the General Association of International Sports Federations, the Association of the International Olympic Winter Sports Federations, as well as the International Olympic Committee Executive Board.

9) Int'l hotels rush to expand in Beijing – People’s Daily Online – April 15, 2005:

Motivated by busy businesses in Beijing and soaring demand there for star hotels, international brand hotels rush to Beijing as Olympic Games approaches.

Olympic Games sets higher requirement for the hardware as well as services of hotels. Moreover, large numbers of famous hotels pouring in forces Beijing to improve itself. Accor's plan also stimulated rapid expansions of international hotels in Beijing.

Michael Issenbeg, Asia Pacific managing director of France's Accor, announced in Beijing on April 12 the group's unprecedented expansion plan: hotels to be doubled in China, from the current 24 to 50 at the end of 2007. The focus will be five-star Sofitel and economical Ibis. By then, 11 Sofitel hotels will be added, including the first one in Beijing. 10 Ibis hotels will be added annually after 2007.

Moreover, Global Hyatt Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group and Shangri-La in Beijing also launched their expansion.