News of the day from Beijing August 7
It is my mother-in-laws birthday today so I am off to dinner to celebrate. We are having Peking duck. Mmmm…
That means a change of plans. I was going to go to see the torch relay as it arrived at Ditan Park this evening. Instead I have been hanging out at home loading photos to my Flickr account and watching the latest Olympic news on CCTV here in Beijing.
Here is a summary of what was making news
Hong Kong Jockey Club
Hong Kong Jockey Club are hosting the equestrian events for the Olympics. The horses are treated like royalty. The have a hospital, swimming pool and air-conditioned stables for the horses. I don’t know if the rider’s get it so good.
Michael Phelps’ turns the pressure down
Michael Phelps was shown in a press conference. Unlike some others I have seen the venue was packed. He was playing down his chances of winning eight gold medals in the Beijing Olympics. He said he is not thinking about it at all and it is just the press making a big story about him.
Michael Phelps also said he will not take part in the opening ceremony as he is resting for his first event on Saturday evening. He starts his Olympic campaign with the 400m individual medley.
The secrets of the opening ceremony
The opening ceremony is scheduled to commence at exactly 8.00pm on August 8. That is 25 or so hours as I write the post. There was a rehearsal on Tuesday and all is in place for the grand show tomorrow night.
Something that is still a secret is just who will be the person to light the Olympic cauldron. The person talking about this said it will be someone who has made a sporting contribution to China and has the standing to be worthy of such an important honor.
My tip for this is Li Ning. He is a famous gymnast for the days of the Los Angeles Olympics. He now has a very successful sporting goods company in China.
Traffic in Beijing
The Traffic Management Bureau is responsible for ensuring things move smoothly on the roads. For the Olympic games athletes there should be no problem as there is a dedicated Olympic lane on the roads using to transport them around Beijing. They said there are 285 special lanes in Beijing.
This on top of the odds and evens car restrictions should see smooth sailing on the roads during the Olympic period. The Traffic Bureau encouraged the general public to use the public transport.
Sailing in Qingdao
On Wednesday it was registration cutoff day for the Beijing Olympic sailing regatta to be held in Qingdao. 61 teams with 400 sailors are competing at the Olympic games in China.
An Australia pairing was interviewed. They said they will be travelling to Beijing for the opening ceremony ahead of their first day of competition on August 11. The Australians said Qingdao was like a second home to them as they have been in the city for nine months in the past four years. How is that for a detailed preparation?
The Chinese will be sailing for the countries first gold medal at an Olympic regatta. The best results in the past inclued a silver in Barcelona and Athens.
Men’s football kicks off today
There are eight matches scheduled for today in the Olympic men’s football competition. Matches take place at four venues around China.
At 5pm Australia takes on Serbia in Shanghai in a group A match. At the same time the USA faces Japan in Tianjin. Brazil plays Belgium in Shenyang and Honduras take on Italy in the last of the 5pm matches in Qinhuangdao.
Here is the full Olympic Football schedule.
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