Beijing Stress Its Own Way in Hosting Olympics

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, July 12, 2002

Beijing Stress Its Own Way in Hosting Olympics

While pledging to build on experiences of past Olympic hosts, Beijing organizers said on Friday that they would gave full display to their own advantages in hosting the top sporting event.

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While pledging to build on experiences of past Olympic hosts, Beijing organizers said on Friday that they would gave full display to their own advantages in hosting the top sporting event.

Addressing a meeting in honor of the first anniversary of the successful bid for the 2008 Olympics, Liu Qi, President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG), said that as a city of a developing country, Beijing should take into account both the host's specific circumstances and what other hosts had done.

"'Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics, People's Olympics' are the themes for our Olympics, showing that we have taken in what other hosts had done," said Liu.

But the reason that Los Angeles, Sydney or Barcelona could be successful hosts is that they stressed their own merits and features while drawing on other hosts' experiences, added Liu.

And compared with other host cities, the Chinese capital has three major features, according to Liu, who is also Beijing Mayor.

"Firstly, under China's social system, we could gather the national resources for big events," he said.

"Secondly, China's economy is developing in a fast, healthy andsustainable way; and thirdly, all walks of life of the country hasgreat enthusiasm to be involved in the Olympics," he added.

Liu stressed the significance of having the whole country getting involved in the Olympics.

"What the Olympics in China is distinguished from others is that all the 1.2 billion people of the country are the hosts of the Games.

"The involvement and support of the whole country is not only one of the major reasons that Beijing won the bid for the 2008 Games, but also one of the preconditions for Beijing to successfully stage the Games," he said.

Though the Beijing Olympics is at its initial stage of preparation, BOCOG have been encouraged by the enthusiasm people showed across the country.

The "Beijing Olympic Action Plan", which the city released this March to solicit public's opinions, has received great response from the whole country, as tens of hundreds of people voiced their ideas by means of letters and calls.

"It has fully proved the fact that all walks of life have great enthusiasm in the Olympic Games," he said.

Having made some changes according to the social response, the action plan, which will serve as the guideline for the city's development during the next six years, was officially published onthe website of the organizing committee on Friday.

Liu said that since it is the first time for China to host the Olympics, the host would act as a trailblazer for other developing countries in terms of the hosting of the Games.

"We would contribute new things to the Olympic Movement, developing a new way and useful experiences for other developing countries to draw on," he said.

He reconfirmed the commitment that China would stage the sporting event in a frugal manner, while meeting the requirements of holding the Olympics.

Since Beijing is a city of a developing country, "it is more necessary for Beijing to show its singularity and attach importance to the frugality and pragmatism in hosting the Games," he said.

The principle of frugality has been highlighted in the course of construction of the Olympic venues. "We wouldn't build new venues if those existing ones could be renovated, and we would not build permanent venues if temporary facilities are practicable," said Liu.

"Favorable economic results is one of the significant hallmarks of the games' success," said liu. "As the city of a developing country, we should pay more attention to this respect," he said.

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