1. Olympics Insurer Chosen
2. Samsung Supports Chinese Olympic Delegation
3. Caterers Eye Slice of Olympic Pie
4. Race Begins for Olympics Mascot
5. Two More Olympic Partners Picked
6. Olympus to Support Chinese Sports
7. Mobile Support for Athens-Bound Scribes
8. Ten Olympic Franchise Stores to Open in Beijing
9. Games’ Work Ahead of Schedule
10. China’s Olympic Athletes will be Stylish
11. China Track Surface Gets Nod from IAAF
12. Masses Run to Cheer on Olympic Athletes
13. Website to Feature Daily Olympic Column
14. Pilot Stores for Olympic Products Open Tomorrow


1. Olympics Insurer Chosen

PICC Property and Casualty Co Ltd, China’s largest property insurer, yesterday became the sole insurer for the Chinese delegation to the 28th Olympic Games to be held this month.

The insurer will provide 780 million yuan (US $94 million) in insurance protection for the 637-member Chinese delegation, the highest protection ever for a Chinese Olympics delegation.
(China Daily, August 6, 2004)

2. Samsung Supports Chinese Olympic Delegation

Just before leaving for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the Chinese Olympics delegation were presented 200 of the newest models of the Samsung SCH-W109 mobile phones by the Samsung Corporation, plus another 2 million RMB last Friday.

The company also initiated a new program titled the “Samsung Olympic Award”, organized by Samsung and China’s State General Administration of Sports. Being different from former awards, which always focused on the winners, this award will also be rewarded to athletes who have made extraordinary efforts but may not have won a medal as well as young athletes who may have shown great potential.
(The China Daily, August 9, 2004)

3. Caterers Eye Slice of Olympic Pie

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is expected to provide over 300 billion (US $36.14 billion) in business opportunities – and the capital’s caterers are vying to capture their respective shares. Experts predict around 18 billion yuan (US $2.17 billion) or 6 per cent of the total cash wind fall from the games will go to the catering industry as visitors and locals enjoy concessions while watch Olympians compete. Profit will be shared by IOC-approved sponsors and providers and local catering operators.
(China Daily, August 9 2004)

4. Race Begins for Olympics Mascot

Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) has announced that the selection process for the mascot design officially started yesterday, and the final mascot will be unveiled on June 1, 2005. The question of the mascot for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games has been the subject of discussions since the bid to host the sports was won. In the two years since then, a host of Chinese treasured symbols have been considered including the giant panda, the endangered golden monkey and red-crowned crane, and the traditional cartoon figure the Monkey King. Professional design organizations from all over the world will have the opportunity to submit designs.

Vice-director of BOCOG Cultural Activity Department Zhang Ming says BOCOG will mail hundreds of invitations calling for mascot design entries for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Other interested professionals can download the invitation from BOCOG’s official website,
www.beijing-2008.org

Specific characteristics of the winning mascot include: (1) it must “carry the concept of the Games”; (2) it should be endearing and characterized by Chinese culture; (3) it should be popular with children, and enjoyed by men and women of different cultural backgrounds and age groups as well; and (4) it should have a marketing value so it can be easily attached to different Olympic licensed products, such as t-shirts, bags, cups, and pens; and look good on TV, the internet, and mobile phones.
(China Daily, August 6, 2004)

5. Two More Olympic Partners Picked

China Mobile and China Network Communications have joined Beijing’s Olympic team. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Games (BOCOG) selected China Mobile Communications Group Corporation and China Network Communications Group Corporation (CNC) as its mobile communications service partner and fixed telecommunications partner.
(China Daily, July 20, 2004)

6. Olympus to Support Chinese Sports

Olympus (China) Investment Co., Ltd will support the Training Bureau of Chinese State General Administration of Sports. Additionally, Olympus has been designated the official camera of Training Bureau staff. The signing ceremony was held on Tuesday, the same day the Chinese Olympic delegation for the Athens Games was announced. Known as the “cradle of world champions” the Training Bureau co-ordinates 11 national teams, including table tennis, badminton, volleyball and diving.
(China Daily, July 21, 2004)

7. Mobile Support for Athens-Bound Scribes

China Mobile the nation’s largest mobile telecommunication service provider, reached an agreement with the Chinese Sports Press Association last week to equip journalists covering the August 13-27 Athens Olympic Games.

The company, which earlier this month inked a partnership agreement with the organizing committee for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, will provide 367 journalists from 68 member organizations with international telephone cards and wireless Internet service. A special technical support group will also be dispatched to Athens to ensure better service for the Chinese journalists.
(China Daily, July 28, 2004)

8. Ten Olympic Franchise Stores to Open in Beijing

The plan for selling franchised Olympic retail items is about to go into trial operation. Such goods are only legally available in stores designated by the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee. The two to three hundred commodities on sale will include clothing, stationary, handicrafts and badges. All the franchised commodities are identified by state-of-the-art anti-counterfeiting technology.
(China Bidding Ltd.: http://www.chinabidding.org)

9. Games’ Work Ahead of Schedule

While Athens is being criticized for delays in preparation for this month’s Olympic Games, Beijing has all of its preparations running ahead of schedule. BOCOG has unveiled the emblem for the 2008 Paralympics, has construction of four major Olympic venues under way, has launched public bidding for two more venues, and has selected banking and automobile partners as well as several other sponsors.
(China Daily, July 28, 2004)

10. China’s Olympic Athletes will be Stylish

China’s largest sportswear producer, Li-Ning Sports, signed with the Chinese Olympic Committee to outfit Athens-bound athletes with uniforms and shoes for the medal podium. Li-Ning will sponsor the Chinese men’s and women’s basketball teams as well as the national gymnastics, diving, table tennis and shooting teams. The specially-designed wear is called Splendid China and the shoes are named Aurora. This is the fourth time the company has sponsored the Chinese Olympic delegation with podium wear.

Internationally, the company also outfits the Spanish national men’s and women’s basketball teams and the French gymnastics team.
(China Daily, July 29, 2004)

11. China Track Surface Gets Nod from IAAF

A synthetic athletic surface produced by the Beijing Green World Sports Development Center, Zephyr Extrac, won the approval from the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF). The IAAF said in its certificate, issued on July 1, that the synthetic surface, Zephyr Extrac, has been tested and meets the technical requirements for use in all international athletic competition.

Japan and South Korea are the other two Asian countries whose synthetic surfaces also won IAAF approval. The prefabricated product is the only Chinese track product in contention for use during the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.
(China Daily, July 30, 2004)

12. Masses Run to Cheer on Olympic Athletes

Over 10,000 Beijingers took part in the 2004 Budweiser China National Mass Run for the Olympics, which ended on Saturday at the Temple of Heaven. The event also included world and Olympic table tennis champion Deng Yaping, women’s volleyball champion Lian Yan, women’s chess champion Xie Jun and former national men’s basketball player Liu Yudong.

The event, organized by the Social Sports Administration Center of the China State General Administration Bureau for Sports and the Budweiser Wuhan International Brewery Company Ltd, was held to cheer on the Chinese athletes in Athens and to encourage physical fitness and health in China.

Budweiser will host the event annually leading up to 2008 when Beijing hosts the 29th Olympics.
(China Daily, August 2, 2004)

13. Website to Feature Daily Olympic Column

Tom.com one of China’s most popular websites, has joined hands with Titan Sports, a leading sports newspaper in China, to launch an Olympic column during the Athens Games. The Hong Kong-based website will provide 24-hour Olympic news coverage. In co-operation with Beijing Television Station the website launched an interview series with fifteen former Chinese Olympic champions on July 29, 2004. The endeavor is part of a cooperative effort by the Chinese sports press to provide wider coverage during the Athens Olympic Games.
(China Daily, August 3, 2004)

14. Pilot Stores for Olympic Products Open Tomorrow

The pilot stage of the Licensed Products Program of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 29th Olympic Games (BOCOG) was launched on August 5, 2004 with the opening of 10 retail stores in Beijing. The program is yet another milestone in the development of the Games after Lenovo joined as a partner along with four other corporations, including Volkswagen Group China Bank of China, China Mobile and China Network Communications.

To protect intellectual property licensed products will only be sold in licensed stores with unified decorations and retail certification. The first group of ten retail stores are located in Wangfujing Gongmei Mansion, Zhongyou Department Store, Beijing Capital International Airport Airstop Building, City and Rural Trade Center, Wangfujing Department Store, Beijing Modern Plaza, the Summer Palace and Guiyou Mansion.

“Every licensed product will be marked by a fake-proof label which will use advanced and recognizable anti-fraud technology,” explained Yuan Bin, vice-director of BOCOG marketing department. A part of the income from the sale of these products will come in the form of royalties to the funds for the Games.
(China Daily, August 4, 2004)