Filed under: China
The spectacular Beijing Games of the 29th Olympiad, which l attended as a private spectator, were an enthralling sporting festival. Over 16 days we saw such dramas unfold in the Bird’s Nest stadium as the performance of the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt of Jamaica. In the Water Cube pool we had similar outstanding performances by the US swimmer Michael Phelps with his personal haul of 8 golds, meriting a separate entry in the medals table on his own! This while the Chinese lost their “pin-up” boy Lin Xiang who pulled out of the 110 metres hurdles – the only real shock the hosts suffered as they emerged as a sporting superpower at these games. Let’s also not forget the huge success of Team GB coming fourth in the medals table.
So, in short, the Beijing Games will be remembered in years to come for the amazing sporting event that it was, as 43 world records and 120 Olympic records were shattered, rather than for the fireworks and theatricals. This is the first lesson amongst others to be drawn from the Beijing Games for when we host the next Games in 2012. Other lessons we need to learn from Beijing for London 2012 include managing the “IOC lanes” on the roads (reserved for International Olympic Committee officials and key sponsors of the games); air pollution measures; ticketing and touting; and the need to be hospitable to visitors.
As l moved between the various Olympic venues, Beijing seemed awash with Olympic lanes for the IOC officials and sponsors. Beijing has far more four-lane roads to meet such requirements than London, even though for most of the time the IOC lanes appeared empty. Here in London we will struggle to accommodate such lanes on our roads, particularly where we already have bus lanes. Thus it may be worth considering our bus lanes doubling up as IOC lanes, particularly in light of how little those in Beijing were actually used by officials and sponsors.
We should not forget that the major environmental issue of the Games was air quality, as it was in Athens in 2004, and in both cases it was suggested that the pollution would affect the performance of top athletes. The Beijing city authorities improved air quality by providing better and cheaper public transport, and by implementing the odd-even license plate restrictions that allowed the city’s private car owners to drive only on alternate days, as well as quite literally closing down the factories outside the city boundaries before and during the Games. Clearly the air pollution did not affect the athletes, as World and Olympic records were shattered, from the sprints to the marathon. And interestingly Beijing’s residents are demanding the continuation of such initiatives as the license plate system, so this truly becomes part of the environmental legacy of the Games. While London does not face the problem of air pollution to the same degree, it will nevertheless be a challenge to meet the EU requirements for air quality by 2010 and we should be mindful of how any slippage in achieving these targets may impact on our public image in relation to the 2012 Games, as air quality has clearly been established as the critical green issue over the past few Olympics.
Ticketing in Beijing clearly favoured foreigners, as the prices were pitched for local audiences yet were more readily available for those of us from abroad. Moreover, in the early stages of most events we did see many empty seats. This is not surprising as the level of interest in events clearly increases dramatically as we get beyond the qualification stage to the quarter-finals onwards. Some blame should be apportioned to sponsors not taking up their allotments of tickets; indeed it would have better if they had been given away instead. But we should be aware that selling tickets for 2012 at London prices will result in a great deal of demand amongst Londoners while making them unduly expensive for many foreign tourists, quite the converse to Beijing. In this respect some of our clubs have extensive experience of ticketing issues like pricing and distribution and we should get their advice and assistance. For example, it is no accident that Old Trafford, as one of the cheaper grounds in the Premier and with an extensive marketing operation, can sell 75,000-odd tickets every other week during the season.
As for the problem of ticket touts, interestingly the worst touts in Beijing were all foreigners who seemed to have an abundance of tickets, so not surprisingly when the authorities arrested and deported them this went down well with both locals and tourists.
And finally, now that we have taken the baton, we should acknowledge how well Beijing hosted the games. Londoners, like Parisians and New Yorkers, have a reputation for being short-tempered with visitors, particularly those of us like myself who live in Central London. Beijing, however, excelled in welcoming foreigners. It was as if the whole city treated us all like house guests, with most foreigners having tales of Beijingers reaching out to them with kind gestures. Furthermore, we probably won’t be able to provide anything like the huge army of helpful, smiling volunteers. But what London can offer instead is a mixing pot of variety. From the noblest arts to modern street culture, London has it in bags, along with a sense of humour and a great sense of occasion. Despite the difficult job London faces, nothing will stop me being in London for the 2012 Games.
September 9, 2008
The spectacular Beijing Games of the 29th Olympiad have been an enthralling sporting festival. Over 16 days we saw such dramas unfold in the Bird’s Nest stadium as the performances of the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt of Jamaica. In the Water Cube pool we had similar outstanding performances by the US swimmer Michael Phelps with his personal haul of eight golds, meriting a separate entry in the medals table on his own! This while the Chinese lost their “pin-up” boy Lin Xiang who pulled out of the 110 metres hurdles – the only real shock the hosts suffered as they emerged as a sporting superpower at these games.
As for Team GB’s performance, it surprised everyone – none more so than the British themselves who are in a collective state of national shock. Finishing fourth in the medals table with 19 golds, behind only the Games superpowers, China, USA and Russia, is the country’s best performance for a hundred years.
Neither, mercifully, were the games affected by many doping scandals.
Yet the background against which Beijing staged the Olympics was dominated by fears of pollution, worries about security and protests about China’s human rights record.
Beijing bashers said that the air pollution would affect the performance of top athletes. This has quite clearly not been the case, as 43 world records and 120 Olympic records were shattered in the course of the Beijing Games. For residents there may indeed be long-term effects which are not apparent yet, but with initiatives such as the major investment in eco-friendly technology to process 90% of the city’s wastewater, Beijingers’ quality of life is improving on other fronts not noticed by the world.
As for security, we were thankfully spared any major incidents and as a spectator I certainly felt comfortable in all the venues and transport facilities that I used. Moreover, the security presence was not heavy-handed or actually visible to the naked eye. If anything, we were more anxious about what wars politicians were starting during the opening ceremony, when the eyes of the world were on China and not them.
With regard to human rights, even the Mayor of London stated that it would be deeply counterproductive to showboat and grab UK headlines at a time when China was opening up, and there was general agreement that the Games should be used to encourage understanding between China and the rest of the world. As the China Daily stated, the Games were a historic climax of three decades of China engaging with the world after a long period of defensive isolation. It should not be forgotten that it was China’s experience during the Opium Wars of the 19th century, waged by the West in the name of free trade, that helped close the doors in the first place.
At the same time, while China has had to open up as a result of hosting the games, it was unrealistic to expect the Games to achieve what world leaders have failed to do, and persuade the Chinese government to adopt the degree of liberalisation favoured by the West. A 16-day sports festival was never going to effect such a complete transformation of Chinese society.
It was also notable that those who wanted to impose a blockade on China in the name of human rights showed little interest in workers’ rights. The outdated registration law that deprives migrant workers in the capital of rights and benefits enjoyed by permanent residents, which is the subject of popular discussion on the streets of Beijing itself, has been ignored by China’s Western critics.
Comparisons with Berlin 1936, which some made at the outset of these games, are wrong. In many ways these Games were more akin to Tokyo 1964 and Seoul 1988, as we see not only a new sporting superpower arising but an economic one as well. So do not be surprised to see high quality manufactured Chinese brands like Haier, the household goods supplier, undercutting others in these markets; Li-Ning, the sportswear supplier challenging the global monopoly control of Nike and Adidas; and Chinese beers like Tsingtao and Yanjing on our shop shelves soon.
A similar development occurred after the Tokyo and Seoul Games when we began seeing high quality goods and services from Japan and South Korea, in contrast to their earlier reputation as manufacturers of cheap, low quality goods. But this time, I suspect, it will be done on a much larger scale.Among native Beijingers the grounds around the Bird’s Nest have already become more popular than Tiananmen Square. There is no doubt that with this stadium the Chinese have created an iconic building to represent their country in the 21st century, which will in time become comparable to the image of the Taj Mahal as a symbol of India. It will prove priceless in the years to come, as it embodies the emerging new China.
August 25, 2008
After having spent time yesterday in practically every Olympic venue watching the sporting dramas, and the success of team GB unfold, I made it back to the Bird’s Nest for some evening entertainment last night. It was certainly worth the effort!
The reddish glow in the sky above the stadium attracted spectators from miles around. There’s no doubt that with the Bird’s Nest, China has created itself an iconic building for this century that I would say could become in the future comparable with the likes of the Taj Mahal! It will prove priceless to the Chinese in years to come and is definitely money well spent.
There has been much very exciting drama within its walls during the Games so far. This has ranged from the disappointment of the host nation as their pin-up boy Liu Xiang pulled out of the 110m hurdles in the qualifying rounds, to the spectacular performance of the fastest man in the world Mr Usain Bolt from Jamaica in both the 100 and 200metre finals. When l first saw his 100 metre win it brought up thoughts of Seoul 1988 when Ben Johnson won and was almost immediately disqualified when tested for drugs. But in this case there is no taking away from the great success of the lightning Bolt of Jamaica. He has made a huge impact at the Games including breaking two world records and it was a joy to watch.
We should also not forget what Beijing bashers were saying about the air pollution in Beijing. That it would affect the performance of top athletes – quite clearly not the case!
Its dramas like and the stories yet to be told in the remaining few days which draw me to the conclusion that these games will go down in history, as we see China’s “coming out” party – an excellent sporting event that we will remember for a very long time. As well as seeing a sporting superpower emerging, I reckon we will also see them gaining economic success with Chinese brands like Haier – the electronics company – and Li-Ning – sportswear – on shop shelves sooner than we realise.
August 21, 2008
Well, the rain l was praying for certainly came down on Sunday night in a big way. I had not seen such a torrential downpour of rain for some time. Alas it has still not cleared the sky of the haze l saw as soon as I got off the plane at Beijing International airport, though it has made the place much cooler, which is of some relief to both athletes competing and spectators moving between the various venues. As a result many of Beijing’s iconic new buildings like the Bird Nest and the Cube, are set in a backdrop of grey skies and not brilliant sunlight which does not make the most of their eyecatching features. You can see that for yourself in the photo above of the Birds Nest where its greys almost merge with the skyline.
On the sporting front, the clear battle for top of the medals table is between the USA and China. The first major battle on that front came in the basketball on Sunday night. While the Chinese started well with their top star Yao Ming in fine form, the USA, with their president in attendance, clearly showed their superiority in the game they invented by winning at the end by 101 – 70.
China’s sporting success really began the day before when Chen Xiexia won the women’s 48 kg weightlifting gold, and it will undoubtedly be the first of many, many gold medals for them. The home crowds have been hugely supportive of their athletes and if anything the problem will be dealing with such high expectations all the time, which was the fate of some of their shooters on Saturday. That said and done, its clear to many that China will emerge as a sporting superpower at this Olympics and will in all probability be topping the medals table.
So in future we can look forward to the Chinese getting fed on a diet of sporting success at the Olympics and they will be the one of the countries to watch in London 2012.
In the meantime, it was a pleasure to be at the pool to see British success when Becky Adlington won her gold medal in 400m freestyle. This is clearly a boost to the team as all of team GB’s swimmers has got through to the finals and semis. Becky becomes our first gold medalist women swimming success for 48 years. All this in a session where the USA won the mens 100 X 4 relay by the closest of margins, quite literally just a finger tip from the French. Let the sporting dramas continue!
Finally surprisingly much of Beijing has the feel of other East Asian cities like Seoul and Singapore as much of the new infrastructure in the city appears not to be more then a decade old. Sure, it has plenty of history with the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and its hutongs, but huge investment has given it roads and subways much like it’s neighbours and the atmosphere is similarly relaxed – the only difference is the language spoken.
August 12, 2008
I arrived to a very hazy and humid Beijing on the day that China’s “coming-out ” party begins, wishing for some rain to break, as l meet up with some friends in an ex-pat bubble in the suburbs. This wish for some rain in the summer is not a dissimilar one for me to make on trips to South Asia during the summer particularly with this level of humidity.
Clearly we do not want any rain during the opening ceremony but certainly for all the athletics sake, abit of rain would not go amiss, helping to move the haze away. Indeed l understand this was attempted by putting silver iodide rockets into the clouds to force them to rain just before the games. Sadly the haze has returned and something similiar will be needed to break the humidity as much as anything else like pollution levels.
In Athens in 2004, the Greeks were in celebratory mood right from the beginning of their Olympics as their boys had become European National Football Champions completely out of the blue, a few months earlier. With the Chinese the focus has been more on the security of the games and getting their big night right with the opening ceremony rather then enjoying it but l’m sure that will come later on in the two weeks of sporting festivity that is the Olympics.
After seeing the ceremony last night, London clearly has a big act to follow but l have got to confess l find most openings rather naff. So bring on the sports as soon as possible starting with the basketball match between China and US on sunday night. Do not forget that Sydney 2000 had a similiarly impression opening but do most of us remember that in comparison to the very emotional Cathy Freeman winning the 400 m women race for herself and Australia. Now thats why l came on this holiday to see moments like that again here in Beijing and l am sure l’ll see them.
August 9, 2008
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