China Olympics

China's Olympic stadium put through pacesTimes Online, UK - May 23, 2008China’s biggest athletic star last night delighted his fans as he sprinted to victory at the spanking brand new Olympic stadium in a dry run of the 2008 …Olympic Sponsors Cheer the Home Team BusinessWeekStar runner Sun disappointed by poor showing at Bird's Nest China DailyLong March to the Bird’s Nest Reuters IndiaAFP - China Dailyall 255 news articles

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China says Beijing Olympics faces security challengeReuters India, India - 5 hours agoBeijing is also worried that foreign activists, who disrupted the international leg of the Olympic torch relay, will stage protests inside China over Tibet, …

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Beijing 2008Greek ambassador to China to relay Olympic torch in Central ChinaXinhua, China - 50 minutes agoJINGZHOU, Central China, June 1 (Xinhua) — Michael Cambanis, the Greek ambassador to China, will be the No. 3 torchbearer to relay the Olympic flame from …Karen Mok adds star power South China Morning Post (subscription)Olympic torch continues its journey in Yichang China DailyOlympics and Three Gorges: two national century-year-old dreams … XinhuaXinhua - China Dailyall 27 news articles

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Ottawa CitizenDespite strains, sponsors look for Olympic boostThe Associated Press - 3 hours agoStill, Ryan said, looking at the Olympics' popularity in China, "I think a lot of sponsors are now realizing they are partnering with success. …Torch Relay Sponsors Facing Ambush From Rival Olympic Backers BloombergChina, Corporate Sponsors, and Darfur Huffington PostRoad to Beijing: Marketers treading carefully Hollywood ReporterHollywood Industryall 105 news articles

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Mirror.co.ukChina’s Pride: A 24-Karat Olympic MachineNew York Times, United States - 10 hours agoIn anticipation of China’s debut as an Olympic host, officials here have seized the opportunity to prove their country is a world power in sports. …Rogge says Olmpic Games will bring more openness to China CNNReady for its close-up Salt Lake TribuneOlympic queues in Beijing Times OnlineBusinessWeek - Winnipeg Sunall 222 news articles

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Coordination Commission for the London 2012 Games has delivered a positive endorsement of the work being carried out by the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) and its partners. Led by its Chairman Denis Oswald, the Commission had spent three days (20-22 May) visiting some of the 2012 venues and hearing updates from LOCOG, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and the other organisations involved in preparing for the Games.

Deliver Great Games
Speaking at the end of the visit, Denis Oswald said, “The Commission has been greatly impressed by the quality and speed with which LOCOG and its partners have been able to progress since our last visit. The most visible element is obviously venue construction, and the progress made on the Olympic Park, in particular, is truly astounding. In all the areas of preparation, we have been able to see marked progress by the London 2012 team, and this puts LOCOG on track to deliver great Games in 2012 and a great legacy beyond.”

Political Support
The Commission was also able to meet this week with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, leader of the opposition David Cameron, Liberal Democrat MP Don Foster, Olympic Minister Tessa Jowell and the newly elected Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Oswald said, “The cross party support for the Games and the backing from the highest levels of Government in Great Britain is extremely reassuring. This strong basis of support for the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be crucial to London 2012 achieving its objectives. It is also pleasing to see that all levels of Government are working hard to engender a legacy of sports participation from the Games.”

Focus On The Athletes
With many former top level athletes on the Commission, along with highly experienced sports administrators, the group was pleased to see how LOCOG, in association with the British Olympic Association (BOA), was focusing on the athletes’ needs for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Chairman Oswald noted, “The athletes are central to the Games, and our Commission members know exactly what it takes to perform at your best on the field of play, as we have a number of Olympians and Paralympians around the table. We have all been very pleased to see that LOCOG has recognised the important place that the athletes hold in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and this is reflected throughout their planning.”

LONDON 2012London was elected as the Host City for the Games of the XXX Olympiad on 6 July 2005 at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore. London eventually succeeded in the fourth round of voting taking 54 votes from a possible 104. London faced stiff opposition during the vote from the other four candidate cities: Paris, New York, Moscow and Madrid. There will be 26 sports on the Olympic Programme in London in 2012 and around 10,500 athletes.

Podcast (see below)

Podcast with Denis Oswald, Olympian and Chairman of the IOC’s Coordination Commission for London 2012, on the 3rd visit of the Commission to London.


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Female volleyball players from Kazakhstan, Poland, Serbia and Japan have just booked their ticket for the Olympic Games at the Asian continental tournament and international Olympic qualification tournament organised in Tokyo (Japan) from 17 to 25 May. The 12 teams qualified for the women’s Olympic tournament are now known. Besides these three recently qualified sides, the following teams will be making their way to Beijing next August: Algeria, Brazil, China, Cuba, the USA, Italy, the Russian Federation and Venezuela.
 
Only three places left for the men’s tournament
Who will be the last three men’s teams to joint their Chinese, Brazilian, Russian, Bulgarian, Egyptian, Serbian, American, Venezuelan and German counterparts in Beijing? The answer will soon be revealed at the international Olympic qualification tournament in Espinho (Portugal, 30 May to 1 June) and the Asian continental tournament and international Olympic qualification tournament in Tokyo from 31 May to 8 June.
 
Tournaments from 9 to 24 August
The Olympic volleyball tournaments will be staged from 9 to 24 August 2008 at the Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium and at the Capital Indoor Stadium, which will host the finals.
 
 International Volleyball
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 Beijing 2008

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Series on Olympic Scholarship Holders Beijing 2008: today Daba Modibo Keita.

In the early 1960s, Taekwondo Master Kim Young Tae travelled to Ivory Coast to bring the Korean martial art to Western Africa; at the end of the 1960s, one of his students took it upon himself to spread the word in neighbouring Mali. Forty years later, taekwondo is the most popular sport in that country, and Daba Modibo Keita has a realistic chance of winning Mali’s first-ever Olympic medal in Beijing this summer.

Hopes of a nation
With over 150 clubs and 500 black belts among 15,000 exponents, taekwondo’s popularity has taken on phenomenal proportions in a country that is Africa’s seventh largest but one of the world’s poorest. Keita knows he carries the hopes of a nation into the Olympic arena, but breaking new ground for his country should hold few fears for him as last year, despite a torn back muscle, he became Mali’s first ever world champion.

“Almost unthinkable”
“Winning the world title was almost unthinkable for an African, or someone from a developing nation,” said Keita, who was born in Ivory Coast but moved with his family to Mali in 2000. He is one of three brothers who practise taekwondo - for good measure two of his five sisters are blue belts. “I know the whole of Mali is hoping and praying Modibo brings back the first Olympic gold medal in its history,” he says.

Olympic Solidarity support
After spending two years in France, Keita now trains in Virginia, USA. “I’ve received Olympic Solidarity support since 2005 and it’s thanks to this scholarship that I’m world champion and have qualified for the Olympic Games,” he says. “It’s helped me enormously, and it helps all African athletes. Given the same conditions, there are many others who could compete with those from more developed regions.”

“Africa needs this medal”
For the time being the spotlight is firmly on Keita, and he has no intention of letting the moment pass him by. “For any athlete the Olympic Games is a dream,” he said. “It’s the highest summit in sport. I’ve already won something just by going to the Games, first to represent my country, then the whole of Africa. Because Africa really needs this medal.”

 Learn more about Taekwondo

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  Taekwondo

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International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge has just undertaken a two-day visit to Bucharest, at the invitation of the President of the Romanian Olympic Committee, Octavian Morariu. During this trip, President Rogge was received by the President of the Republic, Traian Basescu, and Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu, with whom he addressed, among other issues, the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing, the development of sport in the country and the role it can play, especially among young people. Accompanied by IOC member and European Olympic Committees (EOC) President Patrick J. Hickey, President Rogge also attended the inauguration of the “Sydney 2000” Olympic Centre, before receiving the title of Doctor Honoris Causa of Romania’s National Physical Education and Sports Academy.

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On 4 June 2008, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board will select the Candidate Cities for the Games of the XXXI Olympiad to be held in 2016. Seven Applicant Cities -  Chicago (USA), Prague (Czech Republic), Tokyo (Japan), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Baku (Azerbaijan), Doha (Qatar) and Madrid (Spain)*- have submitted their applications and are eager to know whether they can move to next phase, the so-called candidature procedure phase.
IOC President Jacques Rogge will announce the selected Candidate Cities in a press conference at 4.30 p.m. (GMT).
* The cities are listed in the order of drawing of lots
 
From Applicants to Candidates

The Candidate Cities selected on 4 June will be requested to submit their Candidature File with an in-depth description of their Olympic project. They will also prepare for the visit of the IOC Evaluation Commission. The Evaluation Commission will make a detailed technical assessment of each candidature and publish a report one month before the election of the host city for the IOC members to review. The following timetable has been established for this phase:
 

8 – 24 August 2008

Olympic Games Observer Programme – Beijing 2008

12 February 2009

Submission of Candidature File to the IOC
 

One month before the election of the host city

Report by the 2016 IOC Evaluation Commission
 

 
Election of the Host City on 2 October 2009
The election of the host city of the 2016 Games will take place on 2 October 2009 during the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen. IOC members will cast their votes until one city has obtained a majority.

 Additional information for media

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