We are Ready

August 8, 2007, marked the one-year countdown to the opening of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. More than 60 celebratory events and activities took place in Beijing and other co-host cities. A grand ceremony was held in Tian’anmen Square, including the exciting countdown moment and IOC’s invitation ceremony.

The Olympic song, We are Ready, proclaimed to the world that China is well and truly on track to host the 2008 Olympic Games.

Beijing Gears up for Good Luck Beijing Sports Events

In a move to examine preparations for the next year’s Olympic Games, Beijing is gearing up for the 26 “Good Luck Beijing” sports events scheduled for 2007, ten of them in August.

The 2007 Junior World Wrestling Championships (August 21–26)

The 2007 Junior World Wrestling Championships opened on August 21. All the volunteers were ready for their test, including three young foreigners who attracted a lot of attention.

As the first batch of foreign volunteers recruited for the “Good Luck Beijing” Sport Events, Marcus Schulz, Michael Stout and Cooper Nathan, all from the University of Iowa in the United States took this opportunity to prepare themselves for their voluntary service at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

After a vote in their class back at their university, they got the chance to work in Beijing during the 2007 Junior World Wrestling Championships. “As it is a junior event most wrestlers are not so well known to the public,” said Schulz. “So we must spend some time on collecting their background information and previous results. That will be helpful to those who wish to use them later.”

When asked how they feel to be a volunteer in Beijing, they said they enjoyed working with the whole team at the venue and they would cherish this opportunity here, which will surely be a precious experience in their lives.

 

The 2007 International Archery Tournament (August 20–26)

The “Good Luck Beijing” 2007 International Archery Tournament wrapped up its women’s individual 1/16 eliminations with 53 archers from 20 countries and regions competing in the matches. The United States and Poland will each send three archers to the next round.

Both South Korea and France qualified two archers and Columbia, China, Russia, Chinese Taipei, Ukraine and the United Kingdom had one each.

 

The 2007 International Road Cycling Invitational Race (August 18–19)

The two-day “Good Luck Beijing” 2007 International Road Cycling Invitational Race concluded at Beijing's beautiful Juyongguan Great Wall on August 19. Joop Atsma, member of the UCI Executive Board and president of the UCI Road Commission, made careful and thorough inspection of all the organizational work related to the event during these two days.

The route used in the Beijing event is the same as the one for Olympic road cycling competition next year. Many people like such a meticulously designed scenic route that goes through eight districts and passes eight famous scenic spots in Beijing. UCI President Pat McQuaid praised the route as "the most beautiful road cycling race route in the Olympic history.”

Atsma said, “It’s indeed not easy for one route to cover so many scenic spots. Many cyclists keep marvelling at it. Though the slopes in the mountain area are high, it's not a problem for experienced cyclists.”

Finally, Atsma said, “Through this event, I feel that local organizers are united as one and that everyone is working hard for the coming Olympics. I believe next year we will have a perfect Olympic Games here in Beijing.”

 

The 2007 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup

(August 20)

The “Good Luck Beijing” 2007 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup wrapped up its two-day competition with Donny Robinson of the United States and Shanaze Reade of the United Kingdom winning titles in the men's and women's events.

The event, held in China for the first time, will not only help promote the sport among young people in this country but also enable the local organizers gain precious experience for the hosting of the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

 

The 2007 FIVB Beach Volleyball Women’s Challenger (August 13–19)

The final and the bronze medal match of the 2007 FIVB Beach Volleyball Women's Challenger were staged on the morning of August 19. As a result, the Brazilian pair Angela Vieira/Danielle Vivian remained unbeaten with a victory over the Chinese pair Yue Yuan/Zhang Wenwen.

The venue of this event won good comments from the players of every team, including the Brazilian combination. “The venue is an Olympic-level one and we feel very good. Setting up this venue is a contribution to the World Beach Volleyball,” Vieira/Vivian noted.

 

The 2007 Canoe/Kayak Slalom

(August 16–19)

The “Good Luck Beijing” 2007 Canoe/Kayak Slalom Open concluded at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park on August 19. Ulrich Feldhoff, president of the International Canoe Federation, affirmed the great achievements of the tournament in all aspects.

The ICF chief said, the event was a great success, with top athletes from different parts of the world competing in this highly difficult Olympic course with big waves and rushing current, and that only those paddlers of great skill can come out on top and nobody can win the race by sheer good luck.

"I'm very happy for the excellent organization of the event and a great job done by the volunteers. Many athletes and officials have shown satisfaction with the work and service provided by the volunteers. For this I'm looking forward to the Olympic Games to be held here in Beijing next year.

 

The 2007 International Baseball Tournament (August 18–23)

As the first Olympic venue to be delivered, Wukesong Baseball Field successfully diverts the spectators on the same plane.

Composed of three parts, the Olympic baseball venue covers a total area of 12,000 square meters. Unlike other venues, the design of this temporary venue is relatively simple, which makes it difficult to handle the athletes, IOC officials and guests, spectators and the staff members.

Compared with an ordinary stadium, which diverts different groups of people into different floors, Wukesong Baseball Field takes control of the flow of people by making full use of the four main gates.

Spectators enter through the gates in the southeast and northwest, which lead them directly to their seats at the spectators' stand, while media people and athletes use the southwestern and southern entries.

 

A four-day trial (August 17–20) that took 1.3 million cars off the road each day in Beijing resulted in an improvement in the air quality in Beijing, according to an Environment Ministry assessment released on August 20. The ministry said the city’s air quality over the weekend hovered between 93 and 95 points on an index in which readings of 51 to 100 represent “fairly good” air quality.

Those numbers were better than the 116, or “slightly polluted,” reading on August 16, before the ban went into place, but worse than the eight days before that when the index read between 56 and 88, possibly because of more frequent rainfall.

But ministry spokesman Wang Xiaoming said that the result was not a disappointment. “We have to take into account the state of the weather, too, when judging air quality,” he said.

Despite the usual gloom of pollution hanging over the capital, Wang said there had been a measurable decrease in the amount of dust, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere.

Reducing the number of vehicles had been effective in improving the quality of the air.

Humidity and wind conditions kept pollution from dispersing, but the air would have been much worse without the vehicle restrictions, Du Shaozhong, the deputy director of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau said on August 21.

“The test was successful. These four days the wind speed was slow, while the humidity and temperature were high,” Du told reporters.

He said the air was suitable for outdoor sports like the marathon.

The air quality improved immediately after the traffic control exercise began, with emissions of air pollutants like carbon monoxide dropping 15 to 20 percent, he said.

“The trial proved to be successful as we collected valuable data to work out a valid plan to rein in pollutant emissions during the Games,” the official said.

A detailed plan to ensure air quality during the Games will be released by the end of 2007, he said.

The Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau earlier announced that the city experienced 133 “blue sky days”—when air quality reaches Grade 2 or better—in the first seven months of this year. There were 245 days for all of 2006.

August 20 marked the last day of the driving ban, during which the metropolis of 17 million barred cars with odd- and even-numbered license plates from the roads on alternate days.

Xie Shaodong, deputy head of the Environmental Sciences and Engineering College of Peking University, said Beijing cannot eliminate its pollution troubles simply by restricting cars.

“In the long run, building a fast and accessible transportation network will be a more effective way to improving Beijing’s air quality,” Xie said.

Beijing will build eight new subways ahead of 2012, bringing the number of subway lines to 14, totalling 407 kilometres in length.

 

The four-day traffic control trial which concluded on August 20 was a success according to the government officials.

Vehicles with odd and even plate numbers took turns on the road from August 17 to 20; and people elsewhere in China were encouraged not to travel in private cars to Beijing during the period.

Traffic authorities said that about 1.3 million cars, more than a third of the city’s total, were off the road during the four days. Millions of car owners took cabs, buses and subways or rode bikes again.

The Beijing Municipal Government sent short messages to residents to thank them for

their cooperation.

Liu Xiaoming, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Committee of Communications, said that the trial strengthened their confidence in improving public transportation to ease traffic jams.

The data collected will help officials decide on how many vehicles are to be allowed on the road during the Games, Liu said.

Now, authorities in the city are hoping a new bike promotion campaign will be equally popular and reinforce its status as the capital of the “Kingdom of the Bike.”

Following the success of the car reduction test event, the government on August 19 unveiled a new bike rental scheme to maintain the momentum.

Under the scheme, 50,000 bikes will be available for rent soon throughout the city. They will cost 100 yuan (US$13) for a one-year contract or 20 yuan (US$2.60) per day.

Users have to pay a 400-yuan (US$52) deposit, but this is refunded, less annual rental fees, on return of the bike.

Regular repairs and an old-for-new exchange service are also included in the price.

In recent months, the Beijing government has been running trials of the service in 31 locations across the city.

“It has proved really popular, so it is worth rolling it out across the city,” Du Shaozhong, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau was quoted by the Beijing News as saying.

It is estimated the rental network will cover some 200 locations by the time of next year’s Olympics in a bid to ease traffic congestion.

“Bikes have never become outdated in China, and they are even starting to have an impact on cities around the world,” Du said.

A China Daily poll found most people were in favour of the scheme, saying it would help reduce pollution and ease traffic congestion.

How did you go to work?

 

Du Shaozhong, deputy director of the Beijing Environment Protection Bureau, said, “Until this morning, I hadn’t seen my car since the evening of August 16. In the five days, I rode on bike for four days and walked one day.”

 

Liu Xiaoming, deputy director of Beijing Municipal Committee of Communications, said, “During the four days, I went to work by taxi for two days, was given a free ride by my colleague for one day and stayed in my office for one day. All the leaders in our committee left their cars, untouched, in the underground garage.”

 

Zhai Shuanghe, deputy director-general of the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau, said, “I didn’t go home, sticking to my post, for four days.”

 

Wang Hui, executive deputy director of the Media and Communications Department, BOCOG, said, “I drove by my car for two days to take part in the Olympic Games test events in suburban areas, but on the other two days I rented a taxi one day and was given a lift by a friend on another day, even though I had a pass that would have allowed me to drive on the restricted driving days.”

 

 

Athens’ Newly Built Transportation System

On the eve of the 2004 Athens Olympics, the Greek Government built several sections of subway and light-rail transit (LRT) lines and highways, extending the city's roadways from 16 kilometres (km) to 100 km and the operating times of its public transportation so its visitors could feel at ease when using these transportation services, vehicles, subways, suburban trains, LRT and buses.

　　

Sydney’s Prohibition of the Private Use of Motor Vehicles

During the 2000 Sydney Olympics, to encourage citizens and visitors to make use of the public transportation, the government arranged free-of-charge buses for the public. Anyone could take the bus as long as they held an intraday Games’ ticket. Moreover, the Sydney Government completely prohibited the private use of motor vehicles and specifically renewed and constructed a 5.3 km-circular-railway that connected the Olympic Village with the urban railway system.

 

Number

 

43

During four-day test trial in August 2007, 3,370 cars passed monitoring sites on main roads in urban Beijing per hour, a decrease of 30.6 percent over the previous week. The average speed of traffic was 43 kilometres per hour, an increase of 30.3 percent over that achieved during traffic restrictions tested during the China-Africa Cooperation Forum.

 

73.86 million

During the four-day test trial, the public transportation system transported 73.86 million people, an increase of 15 percent (2.48 million people per day) over the same period in the previous week.

 

13.39 million

Surface public transportation authorities supplied 800 additional buses, using 165,000 bus trips (round-trips per bus route per day) to transport 13.39 million people per day, 1.74 million people per day more than the previous week, an all-time high in the city’s history.

 

5,648

During the test period, police found 5,648 vehicles out of compliance with the test-trial regulations, accounting for 0.19 percent of all the motor vehicles in Beijing.