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Beijing Olympics 2008 - proposals wanted for opening and
closing ceremonies
Beijing Olympics organizers look for opening and closing
ceremony ideas. Got one?
Courtesy: IOC PRESS RELEASE
4 March 2005
The Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad – Beijing 2008 (BOCOG) has launched a search for proposals for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Beijing Games. BOCOG is looking, not only for propositions that could create a fabulous show for both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, but also for proposals that could contain indications or ideas that could be included in the ceremonies.
The proposals for the ceremonies should help to promote the Olympic spirit, create a jubilant atmosphere for the Games and give the participants a warm welcome. They should embrace the concepts of Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics and People’s Olympics, which are the three pillars of the Beijing 2008 vision. The proposals should be creative and original and interpret the rich connotations of “harmony” and “peace” that are central to the idea of People’s Olympics.
A BOCOG selection panel will examine the proposals and look for submissions that promote the distinguishing features of Beijing 2008 that may guide or inspire the ceremonies design team, with some improvement. Anyone who is interested in contributing to these ceremonies, by proposing a concept, should visit
www.beijing2008.com
for further details and all the documentation submit a proposal. The deadline for submissions is 31 July 2005 and the final plans for the ceremonies are expected to be finalised no later than May 2007. The Games will take place from 8 August until 24 August 2008.
Previous Olympic Games host cities have often set the tone for their Games through spectacular Opening Ceremonies, which reflected the culture and identity of the host nation. Sydney 2000 held an Opening Ceremony that reflected Sydney’s and Australia’s link to the sea and the outback. Athens 2004 used their 3,000 years of Olympic Games history to present Greece and Athens to the world. The world is now waiting to see the next instalment from Beijing.30 March 2005
The start of building work on the Wukesong Indoor Stadium has officially commenced, with the groundbreaking ceremony held on 29 March 2005. The Wukesong Indoor Stadium will host basketball during the Olympic Games in 2008, and it joins the National Stadium, the National Swimming Centre, Laoshan Velodrome and the Beijing shooting range as venues already under construction.
The Stadium will cover an area of 63,000 square metres and will seat 18,000 spectators during the Games. The venue will be part of the Wukesong Culture and Sports Centre, covering a total of 350,000 square metres, which will also host the Wukesong Baseball fields, another Olympic site, as well as other sports and commercial facilities. The indoor stadium is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2007.
Once the Games are over, the centre is expected to be converted into a sports, leisure and commercial facility for the residents of western Beijing. This confirms Beijing 2008’s commitment to finding legacy opportunities for Games venues, with several universities already slated to benefit from Olympic Games-related construction. |
