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Let the Games Begin

What? There's more?

The opportunities arising from Beijing's hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games are already mind-boggling, but the city is about to add fuel to its burning passion for sport.

Those who may have wondered how will the city would seize on this rare opportunity and use sports to accomplish its goals of creating a "well-off society" while leading the nation in modernization need wonder no more. They will soon realize that the world's greatest sporting event is not the only game in town.

Since China's capital city won the right to host the 2008 Games, amateur and professional sports development has begun to blossom in just about every way imaginable with the full support of city officials.

Emily Sun, a 29-year-old Beijinger who works as a sales manager for a popular magazine in the city, may typify a new trend. She earns 8,000 yuan (US$967) a month and often buys CDs, cosmetics and English-language entertainment magazines. She likes to carry the most stylish mobile telephone that she can afford. But lately Sun reports she is spending more of her hard-earned money on physical fitness and sports activities. This, in turn, has sparked an interest in attending sporting events and watching sports events on television.

In the glow of the Olympic Flame, many Beijingers are sharing in Sun's enthusiasm for sports. On afternoons and weekends in the city it is not at all unusual to see people carrying sports equipment ranging from badminton rackets and basketballs to golf clubs and swimming gear as they travel to and from recreational venues. Even on a winter's day, basketball courts, tennis courts and indoor swimming pools are packed with fitness fans.

The city is responding to this healthy development by fostering sports development with a Beijing style that is rapidly and increasingly focusing on providing or creating first-class sports facilities, first-class sports talents, first-class resources for sporting events, a first-class sports industry and first-class legal environment for sports activities of all kinds. The city is inviting the world's most famous sporting events, sports clubs and sports stars of the highest international stature to come "play" their games in Beijing.

The move is expected to foster economic development in the city while encouraging Beijingers to engage in healthy, scientific, civilized and modern notions of physical fitness. It is expected to improve people's lives while making Beijing a key international centre for a thriving sports culture that would include the development of many more sports and recreational facilities, the expansion of sports equipment manufacturing, the holding of top-rated amateur and professional sporting events and a major expansion of sports marketing enterprises.

Fan Zheng, director of the Sports Market Management Department of Beijing Municipal Sports Administration, said Beijing will concentrate on developing four critical aspects of the sports industry: leisure sports, competitive sports, sports services and facilities and sports-lottery activities.

The city's Olympic Action Plan for Beijing Sports calls for supporting mass sports, the sports industry, the development of sports facilities, holding sports competitions, improving sports science and technologies, identifying and assisting sports talents and sports legislation. The plan amounts to a blueprint for sports development in Beijing over the next six years, but also includes measures to make the dream a reality.

Fan said, "How to seize the Olympic business opportunity to promote the city's sports industry and accelerate the establishment of a pattern for the development of the sports industry is a key issue. The Beijing Municipal Government encourages investments by State-owned enterprises, joint ventures or private enterprises, employing diverse modes of business operations compatible with the city's economic growth. The added value of the sports industry will grow at an annual rate of 15 percent and should ensure that the added value of sports in 2008 will account for 3 percent of the city's GDP (gross domestic product). The sports industry will become a pillar industry in the capital's culture-related economy."

Sports Market

The Beijing Municipal Government considers the cultivation of physical fitness and recreation, competitions, sporting goods manufacturing, sports broadcasting and publications and sports-lottery activities an important mission. City departments involved with sports are expected to foster the development of sports markets and a sports marketing system.

The municipality will take measures to develop sports enterprises, sports clubs and sports media companies with diversified forms of ownership. It will support an increase in sports brokers and improvements of professional sports clubs for football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, table tennis, badminton, golf, billiards, bowling, motor racing, winter sports and will make competitive sports more professional and market-oriented. Well-known and respected sports-broker companies will be created or improved, especially sports brokers from China or abroad who know their businesses and clearly understand how to operate businesses in the sports field. The city will: strengthen the interaction between sports enterprises and the media industry in Beijing, expand sports services, give positive guidance about sporting events and will use the media to develop the sports cultural market. Sporting goods production will be supported, along with high-tech innovations to create a number of internationally famous sporting goods brands. The quality and standards of sports marketing services will be improved to stimulate public participation in and support for high-quality sporting activities.

The interest of foreign enterprises in the Chinese sports market, especially the Beijing market, is growing. In September 2004, the China Open professional tennis tournament held in Beijing was deemed a great success. This was followed by the ISU (International Skating Union) Figure Skating Tournament in November 2004. In March 2005, World Snooker China will hold a China Open snooker tournament in Beijing and some of the world's best golfers will tee off at the Pine Valley Golf Resort & Country Club in Beijing, which will host the 2005 Johnnie Walker Classic on April 21-24. Beijing is clearly getting the attention of the international sports world. 

Sports Resources

Fan said Beijing will make full use of Beijing's regional advantages to develop properly scaled sports enterprise groups. It will integrate sports resources, improve industrial policies and give policy support to speed up sports development. Where needed, special policies will be created to encourage the development of the not-for-profit sports organizations. Private investment in sports will be sought to speed and improve development. The sizes of the sports enterprises and their business operational effectiveness will be enhanced. The reorganization of sports industries and organizations will be promoted and the reorganization of sports enterprises into joint-stock companies will be encouraged to strengthen cooperation and exchanges with famous international sports companies. Some large enterprises and enterprise groups specializing in sports entertainment, sports demonstrations and sporting goods will be created. The goal will be to make them brand names in China and abroad. More investment channels for raising funds for sports enterprises will be opened, and superior sports enterprises will be encouraged to enter the capital market. Financial departments will be asked to develop new types of financial instruments in support of sports concepts. Beijing's international influence will be used to establish a sports-oriented business zone in Chongwen District to attract sports organizations and sports media institutions, both domestic and foreign, to set up offices or branches in Beijing in an effort to make Beijing an international sports business centre in the Asian-Pacific region. The city will strengthen cooperation with universities and colleges in Beijing to develop versatile, skilled senior sports managers thoroughly versed in sports-business operations.

The city will continue the Beijing International Sports Goods Fairs that began in 2003 through 2008. Beijing's Olympic Park will become a first-class, world-famous sports exhibition centre. In July, the Venue Facilities Beijing 2005 exhibition will be held at the Beijing International Exhibition Centre.

Sports-leisure Industry

The sports-leisure industry will be at the core of new development. The pace of combining physical-fitness amusements, competition demonstrations and sporting goods--three pillar businesses in the sports leisure industry--with information, culture, tourism, commerce and other industries will be accelerated. Five or six sports leisure industrial central zones with sports characteristics will be created, integrating physical-fitness activities, leisure, amusements, visual displays, tourism and shopping in Chongwen, Xuanwu, Chaoyang, Changping and Miyun to transform sports leisure into a new fashion for mass consumption. The city will promote sports lottery participation by the public, sports advertising, sports cultural goods and other service goods so that the sports-leisure industry can contribute to economic growth.

Fan said, "Beijing will be an international sports centre city by 2008. I hope everybody can 'rock their bodies' and enjoy a healthy life."