Does Beijing Lack The Buzz Synonymous With Olympic Cities?
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Traffic Picking Up For Sponsors'
Exhibits On Olympic Green |
Helios Partners CEO Chris Welton, whose firm has worked with past Olympic host cities, said that the "stringent security" at the Beijing Games "may explain the slow traffic at some corporate pavilions and what he sees as a lack of citywide buzz," according to Jennifer Brett of the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION. Welton: "In other Olympic cities, there's literally stuff going on until early in the morning. Here you just don't get the festival feeling, even during the day. They don't understand the concept of fun." Beijing-based marketing exec Nancy Tao, who worked for the '96 Atlanta Games, said, "Early on, they dubbed this the 'no-fun Olympics.' It's definitely evolving, growing." Welton added, "The athletes appear to be extremely well taken care of. They're having a good time." In addition, Coca-Cola execs "have been mobbed like rock stars at Coke's pavilion on the Olympic Green." Following a recent event at the Olympic Green, residents "surged forward for photos and autographs" with Coca-Cola China's Beijing Olympic Project Group GM David Brooks (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 8/19).
FUN & GAMES? The WASHINGTON POST's Dan Steinberg in an online Q&A yesterday, when asked if the Beijing Olympics are "too big for their own good," said, "Yeah, it's much different here. For one thing, there are far, far more events, and far more media. ... Beijing itself is just massive, both in size and population." Steinberg added, "And there are the political elements. All that stuff has died down since the first few days. ... But even when you're writing about sports, or yak cheese, it's impossible to forget some of the larger issues at play. To me, it's been dramatically less fun than Turin was" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 8/18). Canadian entertainer Mark Rowswell, who works in China, said of the country hosting the Games, "For the most part they've been very good hosts with guests in their house. It hasn't been all over-the-top nationalism. I think they've handled it very well" (EDMONTON SUN, 8/19). In DC, Thomas Boswell writes the Beijing Olympics "have been a worldwide weighing of pros and cons for a nation that thinks it's on the verge of greatness. Everything, down to hotel occupancy rates, is fair game. Always sensitive to criticism from outsiders, China feels picked on" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/19).
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Security Officials Confirm That None Of 77
Olympic Protest Requests Have Been Approved |
FAILED APPLICATION: A Beijing security official yesterday confirmed that the bureau has received 77 applications from 149 people to protest in public. A majority of the applications (74) have been withdrawn, “because the problems those applicants contended for were properly addressed by relevant authorities.” Two applications were suspended “because their procedures were incomplete,” and an application was denied because it was “in violation of China’s law on demonstrations and protests” (XINHUA.net, 8/18). The FINANCIAL TIMES' Mure Dickie writes the admission by the security official, "coming after some prospective demonstrators were detained by police, underscores Beijing's determination to ensure 'social stability' is maintained during the Games" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 8/19). NBC's Richard Engel noted there were "several attempts to organize demonstrations here, (but) the government did not allow them. It didn’t want the embarrassment.” A Chinese official stated China “has its own way of way of exercising democracy, and that the Olympics are not the right time to air political grievances” (“Nightly News,” NBC, 8/18). A USA TODAY editorial states with each day, it is "becoming more evident that the 'protest zones' the government agreed to establish are an insidious mix of George Orwell's '1984' and Joseph Heller's 'Catch-22.'" Of the 77 protest applications, "none has been approved. Rather efficient, isn't it? After all, why waste the police resources to actually track down the non-conformers when they can be tricked into identifying themselves?" (USA TODAY, 8/19).
SHOULD IOC BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE? Human Rights Watch researcher Nicholas Bequelin said that the IOC "should be held accountable for not pressing China on the issue." Bequelin: "The IOC seems oblivious to the fact that they're holding the Games in a repressive environment." IOC Dir of Communications Giselle Davies said that she "hoped Beijing would follow the path of other host cities and allow demonstrations in designated areas but the issue was one for local officials to decide" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/19).
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